Evolution Of An Alleyway

Forgotten behind apartment buildings,
alleyways topple into one another.
Scraggled cats tiptoe from beneath
acid dripping dumpsters in furtive squadrons
until they are overtaken by dour mobrats.
Scum plants arise dripping from oil-skeined
puddles until they deceive passersby, feigning
the bark and whimpering leaves of sorry poplar trees.
Shortcutters shuffle more urgently than
they expected past tumbled milk crates
hiding layers of stains so thick they might be quicksand.
Men find their darkest, stirringest souls
crouching in stark shadows,
whispering to slow steam dragging out of manholes.
Leaning on one another,
the alleyways struggle onwards,
dragging the city behind them.