oranges

hidden in the grass
a snake lies
whispering haiku
to someone else's heaven

this proud tree sheds memories
tomorrow's children will rake
off the streets of their souls
fingers caked with an absence of knowing

what green was once
the sound of birds
oranges
water you could swim in

pounding out pemmican on pavement
where previously chariots roared
careening through one lone century
so long of hate

that later generations still choke
on fumes we wrote off as harmless
but capitalism is ultimately charmless
and unsafe at any speed