Prompt 20 wants us to use five words from a long list. I ended up with a steampunk poem and a story seed. This happens sometimes when I write poetry when I’m in fiction mode. I end up with something that’s more story than poem. And sometimes the reverse happens.
The copper owl went quiet when her generator failed
She was tucked into a trunk when her gears stopped moving
Left behind for her weight, despite the coos and the smiles she had given
Despite her loyalty
None of the heirophants noticed her death
They had already left
They had already fled
Far upwind, their airships floated
Above the revolution
Above the smog
They could not bring themselves to admit that they had caused this thing
But they left their estates behind as the city burned
Made a fabulous trend of the whole affair as the city churned
They squandered their coin in a floating castle
Spending gold like lives and lives like gold
They lived in luxury amidst the clouds
Having managed to elevate themselves above the unsavory turmoil below
they
-the gentility-
smoked clove cigarettes
while their gardens turned to dust
They sat cast in velvet and lace and ate soft cheese
As the owl began to rust
They played parlor games and held a masked ball
Laughed at the cowbird outside their windows
They ate truffles while the paupers starved
And as they floated off into the night
They spoke of the miracles they had seen that summer
In the wondrous greenhouse of Doctor Dunderhead
They recalled the cyclops (he sang of fallen suns)
Willowy plants with the faces of pale girls
Vials with mercurial elixirs
Far below this gilded splendor
The urchins ate seaweed soup in the gutter
Pretended not to hear the artillery
As cannons broke the city walls
They salted their meat
Knowing they would soon be short
Gunsmoke curled up over the turrets
But did not quite reach the ego of the fleeing airship
Twice, the owl tried to revive
Twice, she fell into darkness
The city grew pale and thin
The city grew rage in the shadows
The owl, once loved, then left behind
Began to rust
Became a ghost