I Stood a Thousand Years

I stood here for a thousand years.
By sand and wind I have been unceasingly ravaged,
But my final destruction could not have been more savage.
Even a stone Buddha can shed tears
As I fell to the sound of barbed jeers.
A peaceful sentry cut down in needless havoc.
I left my post; in its place an empty passage.
My death's knell is a thunder of cheers.
Here I once stood
For a millennia and more-
A silent, patient guide.
I would return if I could
But I was an innocent casualty of war.
Alas, I have died; I have died.