The Plumbing

A sliver of green in the overflow hole.

I was spitting out minty foam

when I saw the leaf,

a tiny, desperate flag

waving from the dark.

How did a seed get down there?

In the hair and the gray scum

and the things we wash away.

It has a single root hair

clinging to the porcelain.

I’m almost jealous

of how hard it tries to breathe

in a place meant for drowning.