Gemstones
it’s covered
in concrete
the road i knew
the one
i’d walk …
past the “dead end” sign
past the pasture
with the pretty horses
past the wild plum trees
and blackberry bushes
past the homes
of factory workers
and in the summers
it’d be hard to breathe
harder, still, after a truck
kicked up a cloud
and the price for quartz
was fire on the fingers
but it’d be worth it
after you dunked off the dirt
and showed it to the sun
treasure in the trenches
end to end
just had to dig
for it
TL