Oxford in Rain

Dreaming spires
pierce the belly of the sky,
showering brilliance
on gray streets.
Sanctuaries sit in empty silence
amidst the ringing steps
of shoes on cobblestones.
Majesty seeps from wet bricks,
collects in quiet pools.
City buses roar their song,
splashing mud on names
carved in stone, etched in time,
locked away in the minds
of those who are no longer.
Bells echo faint memories
of Shelley, Byron, Keats
as humanity crawls by
holding umbrellas, coffee,
and shallow dreams.