Мы знаем о прошлом
по раскопкам древних городов.
Потомки узнают о нас,
раскопав наши города.
О жизни людей,
изучивших наши развалены,
Узнают будущие археологи.
Город — это почти навсегда…

Thanks a million!

Have I missed the point? ;)

No, you didn't miss the point, october did. :))

Thanks for the input. It is pretty much the same as what I have now, so I will stick to a combination of what we have. :)) I don't think it can sound any better.

Aiduza
What free time? This is part of my work.

Aiduza
Becasue you didn't write who you were answering, I assumed you were referring to the Asker (me). Sorry.

When I was a King and a Mason -- a Master proven and skilled --
I cleared me ground for a Palace such as a King should build.
I decreed and dug down to my levels. Presently, under the silt,
I came on the wreck of a Palace such as a King had built.

There was no worth in the fashion -- there was no wit in the plan --
Hither and thither, aimless, the ruined footings ran --
Masonry, brute, mishandled, but carven on every stone:
"After me cometh a Builder. Tell him, I too have known."

Смысл, конечно, не совсем тот, но какая-то идея преемственности (как и в исходнике) тут прослеживается.