"I Was a Worm"

Cement devoured the flowers,
And crushed the sparrow's nest---
Consuming the willow seed and drowning the squirrel.
Rainbows withered into skyscrapers,
Into pop-up houses and factories,
Into government buildings, schools, and churches
brandishing grafitti.

Years ago, I was a worm
Fleshy pink and wet with dirt I took comfort in the
soil with the deaf, with the blind
Now I am a doorknob---
The doorknob bolted on the front of city hall.
Turn me left, Turn me right---
Either way, the land remains the same,
Caked in brick and plywood.

Cement devoured the flowers,
And crushed the sparrow's nest---
Consuming the willow seed and drowning the squirrel.
Rainbows withered into skyscrapers, Into condominiums
and empty libraries,
Into silent apartments, post offices, and buzzing
police stations.

Years ago, I was a worm, child.
Years ago, I was a worm.

Christine Stoddard