I FOUND A FLOWER MADE OUT OF GARBAGE

i found a flower made out of garbage
it was a pretty thing
made of found detritus
old ribbons
pieces of aluminum
pieced together with rusty wire
handily made with love i suppose
place in a soup can painted green
lying on a floor with used needles
next to a urine soaked mattress
in a building where squatters lived
now they were gone
the demolition had been scheduled
i brought the flower out
put it in the cab of my crane
i used my wrecking ball
leveled a decrepit building
for a new one of steel, glass and concrete
a cold monument to those with money
and i felt sad
i brought the flower home
no one would touch it
it might have germs
they threw it in the garbage
this thing of beauty
i could not understand
this beautiful thing was discarded
like so many other things
i had no part in it
or maybe i did
i found a flower made of garbage