Just who are you?
Just where did this come from?
THE TOWER II
I am a gardener.
I am in the employ of Great Babylon
To shear the grasses and remove the weeds,
To clear the spaces and make way for people.
Nice and clean,
Maintained and managed,
Perfect greenways for the perfect city,
Open floors for the open gardens:
The lighted tower, beacon of righteousness;
The domesticated outdoors, jewel of the public:
Which we need if we are to survive generations of copper and
glass,
Which we need if we are to show the others what we can
achieve.
Our walls must retain the desert wilderness beyond.
Our stories do not tell how we awoke its lumbering hatred.
My opinions of our crown set with emeralds do not matter;
My feelings as I raze what arises on its own do not serve
me.
I am a gardener.
I am sent to spread civilization.