Imaginary landscape [sort-of shi]

(i)

I came to the table and found a peculiar puzzle
I browsed the puzzle and soon discovered a street

I paced the street   anon I arrived at a jumble
I peered in the jumble until I descried a moat

I crossed the moat on a leaf and entered a castle
I ascended its silent tower and admired the view

no bell was tolling   they said it was such a hassle
but I could see all the way to Timbuktu

(ii)

In Timbuktu I lived for a hundred years
then I shipped out on a freighter heading for Lisbon

I wangled a job at an inn dispensing beers
the habitues included many a has-been

one summer I took a stroll thru an art exhibit
installed in the basement of a crumbling castle

drawn to the lode no diffidence could inhibit
I came to the table and found a peculiar puzzle