the aftermath
of winter’s frozen embrace
overflowing dumpsters
glittering shards of
glass on the side of the road
cascading pinpricks
in sunlit disregard

trash blowing
over brown fields
hardscrabble growth
too stubborn to accept
harsh realities where
frozen soil
and fraudulent promises
of sun dappled kisses
add up to
a meaninglessness of
dashed hopes reaching up
toward an absence of warmth

he drifts along
an empty plastic bag
filled with chill wind
floating over the aftermath
of winter’s chill embrace
to tangle in the thorns
beneath sunlit disregard