Cris de Borja

Those roses with thick, thorny stems
lasted three years and more
growing on tall, tenaciously
after the business closed

Rooted firmly on the western corner
of that forgotten property
a building that once housed a grocery mart
the kind of place well-off people might shop

Before the uncaring landlord fenced in
the roses and the walls pasted with bills
homeless men used the roof
they slept in the safety of daylight
guarded by beautiful sentinels with
large green leaves and rich red blooms

Those roses with thick, thorny stems
that for three years or more survived neglect
That bloomed richly red amid dark green leaves
today lay piled in a heap
cut down to the raked dirt

I mourn the loss no one sees
the waste unheeded

Where can a man sleep?
Where can beauty grow?

6/4/2010