Praise the weeds that grow

between the concrete median

on the four-lane highway

oh how the world keeps living

despite all the killing we do

the smokestacks

and ocean freighters

and coal trains

and shopping malls

and sewage plants

beneath it all

between the concrete cracks

there is still life

and those sprouts

growing green from soiled dirt

will outlive us all

and on day when

the air and water is poisoned

and there’s nothing left

for us to ruin

the highways will be meadows

more flowers than concrete

reaching to the horizon line

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He has two published books and one more forthcoming in the Fall of 2022. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com