Seedling

Through rain washed roads of gray
A white clad figure passes
Down an alley
Pavement shining ‘neath his hurried feet

They have not found him yet
The renegade’s cruel brethren
Who are searching
Sharks at hunt throughout the gleaming streets

It finally appears
Thrust out of swirling vapors
Like a phantom
Ancient, it alone can offer haven

Lungs burning with the pain
He ducks into the building
Dark with shadows
Knowing there is nothing else to save him

Sirens fading distant
A curse breathed on the world of
Steel and iron
From a man who seeks a sun unknown

Thrusting tangled hair back
Light spreads out from the gloved tips
Of his fingers
Illumines rows of earth where life was grown

Searching midst the gloom
He reaches past the clutter
To the back shelf
Fingers clasp a cylinder’s cold form

With heartbeat quickening
He beholds at last his quest
Come to an end
A way to part the clouds before the storm

Light glints off the surface
Of a bottle tinted green
Unbroken glass
Hiding far more worth than he can know

Within crystal cocoon
Lies nature’s final refuge
In one seedling
Needing just a place where it can grow

So small a thing to find
In a place so far away
From mortal thought
Tucked in an iron shell this precious pearl

Tears running down his face
As he puts the seed to earth
Prays for its health
To survive in an iron world