for illusion's sake

The Mock Ruin
by Kay Ryan

...built as the backdrop of the stage of the ancient
Roman theatre in Sabratha, Libya, Africa, is the most
perfectly preserved part of the entire structure.
--Ripley's Believe It Or Not!



Fakes and mock-ups, stage backdrops
quickly nicked, weathered, and
stuck together for illusion's sake
(getting some parts backwards)
give more, maybe; sway slightly;
take later buffets better generally
than their brittle sources whose
stones were set down in regular courses
and mortared. Maybe there is something
to falseness that doesn't get reported.

after that didn't / happen

We're Building the Ship As We Sail It


The first fear
being drowning, the
ship's first shape
was a raft, which
was hard to unflatten
after that didn't
happen. It's awkward
to have to do one's
planning in extremis
in the early years --
so hard to hide later:
sleekening the hull,
making things
more gracious.