The Rebel

Written after driving on the highway

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 bloody 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.