A Green Sonnet 

(2018)

Sunlight rolls over and touches 
The verge quilted with wildflowers 
Soft vermillion lies on saffron yellow with flecks of green 
A siren hurtles past to remind me of when I am  

One butterfly searches a construction site 
The young star-shaped stem from a previous day 
Now spiking through, shooting up 
The now out of place toadflax grows heavy with violet blossoms 

Growth, economic growth 
Renewal, terrace passing and semi-detached rebuild 

A downpour carries cement and dust across the path 
Along a concrete rill the manmade sediment rides 
In the dusk’s chartreuse artificial light 
This is my known nature of modernity