Haiku and Tanka - 2. City

Prowling the darkness

Like animals on the hunt

Found in roving packs

One, alone and afraid, gone

Absorbed; now part of the gang

Smelly trash dumpsters

Behind every building sits

Adding their fragrance

To the city air; perfume

So sweet it can make you gag.

A single tree stands

Reaching for the smoggy sky

Trying to breathe as

Thousands of cars putter by

Tis a lonely way to die

Bum on a park bench

Sleeping in wine soaked slumber

On a winter night

Under newspaper blankets

Urban antifreeze in use

Unwashed people stand

Begging for scraps in the street

Holding up their signs

"Will work for food, family

To feed" stinking of whisky

Feral animals

Running wild in the shadows

Fighting for the scraps

Found left over by humankind

Where have the night children gone?

Hypodermic trails

Sticky residue splashed 'round

Piled broken bottles

Hidden places known yet not

Unseen by all, left to rot

Stretching on for miles

Identical houses stand

All in a row like

Tin men on a battlefield

But with whom are they at war?

Plucky patches grow

Forcing color upon gray

Spring Dandelions

Cracked sidewalks, potholes

Basketball hoops with no nets

Electric wires

Plastic bag tumbleweeds blow

Concrete concentration camps

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