Decrepit buildings strangled with ivy,
leaking roofs where water creeps in, then dries,
and rots plaster and splinters wood to fray.
I welcome the ruin of civilization’s structures,
I secretly applaud the falling of the rain.

Sidewalks fractured by roots writhing beneath the concrete,
Shoots of grass penetrate the cracks of many driveways.
The vacant lot’s asphalt is crumbling, collecting water, and birthing weeds.
And I secretly cheer the patient revolution of the vegetation.