Detective treads where maples shed
Acer saccharum leaves spread red
Trench coat catches mortar seams
Quercus rubra haunts his dreams
Roots remember what feet forget
Pavement cracks where seasons met
He stands still as ginkgo stands
Time unwinds in dirty hands
Brick roots pull him down deep
Where the city's heart beats sleep
No badge now just soil and stone
Autumn claims what he has known
Tension coils in clay and loam
Sidewalk sings a slower poem
Breath aligns with root and rain
Pressure lifts the frozen chain
Brick roots hold him fast and deep
Brick roots hold him fast and deep
Magnolia drops pink on gray Magnolia grandiflora stays
Coat fibers drink the morning mist
Pavement drinks what roots have kissed
Brick roots pull him down deep
Where the city's heart beats sleep
No badge now just soil and stone
Autumn claims what he has known
Latin names float through the air
Taxus baccata standing there
He breathes slow like xylem flow
Patience grows where none would know
The knot unwinds the coil releases
Earth provides what concrete ceases
Brick roots breathe and rise
Brick roots breathe and rise
Walnut juglans branches stretch
Juglans nigra guards the fetch
Wool fibers loosen thread by thread
Morning light paints brick roots red
Brick roots pull him down deep
Where the city's heart beats sleep
No badge now just soil and stone
Autumn claims what he has known
Brick roots hold where he belongs
Boston sings in root songs
Platanus bark peels white and green
Platanus occidentalis scene
Trench coat rests on ancient clay
Off duty now the bricks obey
Brick roots hold him steady now
Brick roots hold him steady now