Taking my dog to the canal
Its tea coloured peace
Resting behind the town
He noses in nettles
Relieves himself on bluebells
As I eye the bridge's span

Towards its apex
Crushed beneath the roadway
A sapling reaches out
I look closer
Its lignified limb squashed flat
Emerging arthritic
Unfurling green fingers
In a screaming hopeful last

My eyes slide down the wall
Where council funded murals
Darter dragonfly, pipistrelle bat
King fisher, KING fisher!
Are washed over stone
Pale compensation
For nature entombed