The Ruin (Jacob Polley)

Tonight, I saw a commercial for the return of the show Game of Thrones. So when I read this poem by Jacob Polley I kept picturing scenes from the show - the castle and the town - only, as they would be later, in ruins.

The poem describes ruins of a medieval castle (or town). It's a loving portrait that makes me feel as though I were there seeing the same scene. Although, it helps that there are shows and books that cover much of the same ground so I already have a preset image when he gives keywords like 'Anglo-Saxon' and 'stronghold'.

The lines are iambic pentameter (I'm pretty certain) and that also adds to the old-fashioned feel of the thing. It's  classic meter to talk about a classic scene.

Favorite line: "And the builders are broken down, bone by bone, / mindless and muddled together in the bottomless muck."