Efficiency report complete. Green zones underperforming. Recommendation: Expansion. Optimization. Automation. Scheduled for modernization. I watched them come down the avenue Blue sparks in their teeth Talking about advancement Like a blessing Talking about expansion Like they invented growth Behind them Survey stakes Red paint Machine teeth And rows Rows Rows Of tomatoes already heavy with fruit Somebody’s grandmother still watering. Somebody’s kid still chasing butterflies. And they said: Clear it out. Something old stood up inside me. NOT THIS GARDEN! Take the empty towers Take the dead places Take the places nobody gathers But not this Not the rooftop suppers Not the fig trees planted Not the rows built hand by hand Not the place that taught strangers How to become family They sent drones over the peppers Sent reports Sent projections Sent numbers So we answered With cookfires. Neighborhood dinners. Seed exchanges. Drums. Hundreds of hands planting squash Right where they marked excavation. Grandmothers. Mechanics. Teachers. Kids. No uniforms. No leaders. Just people. And suddenly, The machines looked small. You can’t conquer a neighborhood That takes care of itself. NOT THIS GARDEN! Take the empty towers Take the dead places Take the places nobody gathers But not this Not the rooftop suppers Not the fig trees planted Not the rows built hand by hand Not the place that taught strangers How to become family HOLD THE LINE HOLD THE VINES NO TOWERS SKYHIGH WE ARE THE WALL WE ARE THE WATER WE ARE THE ROOTS BELOW THE STREET You can’t manufacture progress… You can’t invent the rhythm of nature… This garden stands against…
