A little piece of Eden lies outside my window sill – 
between the bars that guard my window
and the fire escape’s barred rails,
a little potted plant, a splash of green 
against the terra cotta tub that echoes
colors from the alley’s solid wall of bricks
which mark the limits of my world.

When days are free of rain and fog,
I watch the line of sunlight creeping
slowly down the bricks to touch the plant
and bathe its emerald leaves in brilliance, 
if only for an hour, before retreating
up the wall and leaving shadows in its trail.

On rainy days, the splash of drops
on shiny leaves relieves the gloom
that shrouds my world in gray monotony.
The water drips from leaf to leaf,
bringing rich black soil its life, 
oasis in an urban desert.

Stranger in a strange land,
this sturdy plant survives,
and brings me hope that I may do the same.