Fertilizer

The humidifier is working too hard,

spitting a fine mist over the ferns.

In the center, the Swiss Cheese plant

has given up on its name.

The price tag is still sharp and white,

hooked to a stem that’s turned to mush.

I touched a leaf and felt the grit,

a chalky streak of hard-water stains.

Small flies rose in a nervous cloud

from the sour, over-watered dirt.

It costs eighty dollars to watch

the green turn to the color of a bruise.