The city of slums and shining sights
Is not as clean as country road.
They contrast one another.
Neither can be docile or tamed.
Each holds its own dangers
As well as unique delights
These varying dominions of coexistence
Between architecture and natural habitat.
The concrete jungle, ruled by wall and stoplight,
Cannot remove Nature’s foothold.
Vines of ivy crawling ever upward and outward
Mingle on buildings’ sides, grafitti-covered.
Cracks in pavement serve as furrows
For weeds and arbor seedlings
As underfoot they’re trampled
By all the busy passers-by.
A forest of steel, glass, and brick,
A city to be quite precise,
Appreciates flower and rooftop garden
But forgets what gifts they bring.
