The Weed That Wouldn't Give Up

A single green sprout

knotted and fierce,

twisting through the cracked concrete

like it was nobody’s business.

Scattered cigarette butts

carved in ash at its feet,

a stubborn promise breaking the gray,

the city’s scrawl of neglect.

I knelt, fingers curling

around its wiry roots,

held tight, paused—

letting the stubborn plant pull me into

this small war, this green rebellion.