A study in urban botany
17/1/16
On the bridge behind the Tescos
Sprouting out from the cracks of the pavement
There’s a small, delicate blue plaque
Pinned tastefully to the railings. It reads:
‘Geranium Robertianum flowered here
From June to October 2014’.
The railings have been lovingly repainted
And the pavement has been recently swept-
There isn’t a weed in sight.
In the doorway of a McDonalds
Two homeless men crouch on plastic bags
Discussing where best to spend the night.
Author’s note:
This experience with the plaque did genuinely happen to me whilst out running in Oxford one evening last week- it struck me as such an absurd moment that I had to write it down. After writing it I felt it needed something else – whilst walking to a tutorial the next day I saw the homeless on Cornmarket Street, and I realised how the poem had to end. I like the fact that the comparison gives the poem a whole new level of meaning- looking at what really proliferates on our streets, plants or people.
