wild things grow over fences

on the road i travel
i pass this
nearly every day
this gangly fennel
growing over
barbed wire

(it makes my heart ache)

i have longed to capture it
to let it in my heart
(to understand the ache)

yesterday, it happened

i stopped
and it let me capture it
(for a moment)

i realized i love it so
because it helps me remember that
wild things grow over fences
and jump out of boxes
and kick through locked doors

wild things cannot be contained
(for long)

on the other side of the road
amongst crushing metal
cargo containers
train tracks
and concrete
a lone tree grows
he is young
he waves at us as we pass
(we call him Sappy)

wild things grow over fences