Proliferation

In the garage, a plant
with bulbous roots and a cascade
of dark green, shiny leaves.
Beside it, a wandering ivy,
with rows and clusters
of heart-shaped leaves,
a diaspora of flags 
nesting on the ledges
of stacked boxes and a makeshift table.

Both plant and ivy
nurture and reward his fidelity –
his weekly acts of care towards them,
with the leafy proliferation
of their green selves.
Their thirst for water, for sunlight slanted
through blinds, is not unlike his own.
Their desire to reach ever further
into the air which surrounds them,
never fails to remind him
that despite change and decay,
he still wants to thrive.

 - Eduard Burle