Tiles cracked and broken
Some out of place and off center
Splendid decor of an age long passed
An earth spanning empire
Ruled by the Gods themselves
Now only its ruins remaining  

I was the first down after the excavation
A portion of a great estate unearthed
Nearly perfectly some thirty feet below
Despite the weather and age of the site
It was terribly well preserved
I carefully inspected the floors and ceilings
The intimate orange glow of my lantern
Casting dim shadows where none had been
For a great many centuries

Though separated by time
They were certainly not so different
Stonework and decorations
Artwork and quality carpets
Jars and boxes of all shapes and sorts
The main difference being
I myself was yet in the land of the living
And their starved or drowned remains
Lay before me at the end of the room

Odd their position was a seated one
Leaned up against the stone brick wall
As if they did not struggle or gasp
In their last moments at all
But simply accepted the hand of fate
And breathed in willingly
Their first breath of oblivion