Description

What creatures are these, perfuming
the night air with their subtle
scents, surviving only by stealth
and subterfuge? They are resilient and
street-smart and tenacious. They are
the plants of the city.
We mean here the true city plants
—not the pampered and manicured inhabitants
of lawn and flowerbed — but
the forgotten denizens of back-yards
and alleys. They raise their dirty faces
from ash heaps and cracks in the
pavement. Not for them the cozy ambiance
of clipped hedges and spotless
gravel walks; their homes are littered
with Lysol cans and broken wine
bottles. They are not watered with considerate
hoses, but by roof-drips and
rainfall and wandering drunks. Their
soil is not conditioned and balanced.
Their insect pests are not attacked with
all the miracles of modern chemistry.
And yet, they survive, with Promethean
indifference to humans and their ways.