Unplanned Garden

Shuttered factories surrounded by empty parking lots
 
Fenced for security
 
The workers are gone with their cars
 
That once were parked between the fading paint striping
 
The cracks in the pavement contain the new urban garden
 
The ancient prairie reclaiming its space
 
Stray grasses, yellow dandelions, blue chicory and other indescribable plant life
 
Is all that inhabits the old lot
 
This unplanned garden goes unnoticed but the weeds can be eyesores
 
And a reminder of jobs lost
 
Nearby, in a park, unwanted weeds are eliminated
 
But are ignored and forgotten in the fenced wilderness
 
As are the people who once worked there
 
The old factory will one day be torn down and replaced with condos
 
And a meeting will be held by its new inhabitants
 
About where to place a garden
 
A heated discussion will be held concerning what is weed and what is flower
 
Outside, unnoticed, a green shoot will appear in a small crack
 
That has formed in the newly poured sidewalk