The Green Leaves
- grow and the men go down the stairs. The sun
- comes up and the men go out. The corner smells like men.
- The windows are dusty, like as not
- unlit. In the courtyard a small mural on plywood.
- In the mural flowers. White plastic baskets with
- tall scrolling handles. The men pick them up and
- the men put them down. They sit in chairs,
- they put their clothes on and don’t take them off.
- The men stand in groups. You can’t catch one alone.
- The sun shines down on the west.
- All the green plants in shade. All the tall gates
- closed up. You can’t tell where the men come out.
- Between here and the river there is a lot of dust,
- but the building is large and there are
- men in every room. The men break the windows
- and the windows don’t get fixed. The men go
- down toward the river and then come back.
- There are chairs in the garden and the men sit
- down. In the grass there are smaller fences
- around smaller buildings. There are smaller leaves
- and paler greens and smaller men in tiny chairs.