The flower grows through the concrete
that flat dark oppressor
who’s overtaken our world

The land used to be soft
supple and sweet with the
loving soil

dirt roads and dirt houses
earth surrounded us
made us remember where we come from

on the open faces of children
the clenched hands of adults
were left traces of the world

work and play involved the same
essential ingredients
and together they made life

pavement is clean
and leaves no mark
except ****** scrapes on our knees

Now it hurts to fall
the earth cannot catch us
with her arms bound

But the green is coming through
now and I can see the breaks
in the grey

The cracks are getting wider and
we might have hope yet
of wearing that warm ground

If I can find a patch
of some dirt
I’ll roll in it till I’m covered

And walk naked through the asphalt
world till my muddy footprints
erase all the bloodstains
from scraped knees and plucked flowers.