a casual retraction
distending roots
from salted soils
retreating back
into a seed of ruin
a defense mechanism
once the nutrients
have been extracted
as the ground beneath
takes more than the
fleeting light can
possibly renourish
to roll along until
the next patch of
seemingly barren dirt
can tease with thoughts
of growing strong to
touch the azure skies
the polluted rains
drive toxins underground
where the tentative
tendrils seek deposits
to flush fresh color
into malformed blossoms
opening beneath the
dismissive glare where
sunshine always falters
a patch of scrub litters
the stonefaced horizon
a hint of withered brown
in a field of ashes

i sip my coffee
as the world snores
watching the seeds
tumble into
a freshly tilled barrow
expecting nothing
but a harvest of
desolate famine
as the farmers ride
with sunken faces
across the plains of salt
a blistering headache
of windswept grit
stinging reminders
in perspiring lamentations