I almost pass it by, its autumn moon above damp leaves, its aquiline, symbol-cratered face. No sun shining down through the matted branches but I feel a shadow lift looking at the gnomic inscriptions, the numerals, the careless, glittering deities in eternal sunlight, moving above our half-lit world. I imagine dappled leaves, the trees above in blossom till dampness creeping up my trousers bring me back to a less illustrious time. I notice the ravages of visiting birds, the weeds growing in sodden chains. I check my watch, returning to the gnawing tedium of my tethered life, the long walk home.