A blade of grass

oppressed by sun and foot

Once slender, shimmery green,

I have faded and dried like

the romantic dreams of an

ancient spinster

Heat beats down on me

heartless people tear me from the earth

knowing I am totally vulnerable

I cannot shout or cry

or even curse them

I am impotent

Tethered to this spot

prostrating myself for other’s whims

I could have provided beauty and comfort

but was relegated to being part of

a depository for animal droppings

and people’s sordid discards

How mournful I am

knowing that life could have been

so beautiful

so satisfying

but mutated into

such ugliness

~~July 1997 ISM

Previous Poem

Table of Contents