we walked the river roe
ash, elm, oak and yew,
invasive and native.
you relayed their etymology
on a damp park bench beside a council-issue bin
populus tremula
whispering overhead.
we noted gaps in the city
where green tears up concrete,
roots barge bitumen,
snarled in melancholy optimism
dealing with the situation.
the cheapside london plane
is struck often by vandals
but implacable
against 2 for 1s and cut price cosmetics,
dapples sunlight
across swathes of ice cream eaters.
