Rain slick asphalt cracked and split

Rain slick asphalt, cracked and split,

a dandelion’s bowed head nods stubbornly.

Yellow fire against a gray tomb,

a fierce small pulse beneath the hard world.

Soaked petals soak the cold night,

so fragile and fierce,

a yellow flare that refuses to die,

a quiet war waged through concrete veins.

It holds the crack open,

breathing despite the weight,

proof that even broken things

can push back against the crush.