Acer rubrum paints the ticket booth in crimson
Quercus alba stands where the carousel has been
Pueraria montana climbs the Ferris wheel struts
Solidago waves gold along the empty ruts
North pulls toward the overgrown gate
South knows the highway I take
East shows the coaster's rusted spine
West drinks the sunset like wine
Package wrapped in oilcloth on my shoulder
Weight grows lighter as the day gets older
Hamamelis virginiana blooms in chill
Parthenocissus grips the gate so still
North pulls toward the overgrown gate
South knows the highway I take
East shows the coaster's rusted spine
West drinks the sunset like wine
Compass glass is spiderwebbed from three decades
Needle drags like roots through heavy clay beds
Ulmus americana fell on bumper cars
Liriodendron drops gold on tilted tracks and bars
North pulls toward the overgrown gate
South knows the highway I take
East shows the coaster's rusted spine
West drinks the sunset like wine
I speak to the sumac like old friends I know
Rhus typhina claims where the midway used to grow
Compass spins where magnetic north lies deep
Buried under roots where the cottonwoods sleep
No delivery today, no signature needed
Just watch how the land gets successfully seeded
Every rusted bolt feeds something living
Every broken track grows green and giving
Boots turn toward the highway at last light
Compass settles true in my calloused hand tight
Milkweed releases silk on autumn wind
I'll carry seeds where the next route begins
North pulls toward the overgrown gate
South knows the highway I take
East shows the coaster's rusted spine
West drinks the sunset like wine
North pulls home through kudzu and vine
South leads where the living deliver on time
Seeds in my pocket, dirt under fingernails
The park breathes easy now
