by John Anthony
The time it took for urban sprawl and populations to expand
And children once so little to succeed
Has seen within, thoughts unwritten, winning garlands
Bright in dreamland
As caution tramples down the flowering seed.
I lie unearthed and naked, each test refrain
Standing petrified in fear, may God reveal,
Mid omnipotence and fancy, and impotence and pain
If I can ever heal.
A wincing worm writhes on a sunlit rock.
Frantic, its smothering breath
Vainly quenched,
When it dreams some ogre worse than death.