hardscaped

(from Poverty Rush)

the hardscaped neutral background does expand, navigates

fact-encrusted surface preferences for the strategic native plantings

of an inhabited landscape.

concentration reduced to dismantling roots–

replaced corrosive consumer binge with essentials, affordability.

outwardly balanced, collective memory’s preservation efforts–

(green roofs, living walls) are participatory as sunlight through the day.

redwood reclaimed steel, carved with views of the world

from tight quarters–both crucible and raw testament.

(I always keep a sense of hearth with me, just in case.)

pedestrianized streets leave for the forest and the sea.

derelict space blurs cypress smells and saturated expanses of glass

seamlessly into a vortex of interconnection.

resolved, afflicted. odd with having run out of money.

low bridges mean to keep city dwellers away from the sea, its shore.

thinking smaller

joy captured, bottled, sent into production under lock and key

once-sound, durability become root thoughtlessness.

foreclosed exurban housing is feel-good surface–

feel-god, glorified elements of space into machine-like forms.

the Do Nothing machine:

Timeless! Extendable! Parallels aimless astonishment!

replaced a proxy world of intricate filing systems with a one-pot meal.

a quiet space fantasy moved to the country to see only trees, only spruce.

wanting to catch the sun, and think seriously about the lake

from a central atrium setting. a sleepless loft. a restless winter garden.

lettuce steps to the chard roof:

all the limitations of the deep forest.

limitations know compromises are a connection to necessity.

a wooded garden’s way to opt in to the sky’s utility.

wild grasses’ economy of means living in the canyon.

drought-tolerant, dry wells’ restraint gives rise to abundance.

suggests a barn’s shadow or an orchard grid–

an honest material gateway to an optimistic future.