buildings wilt and bloom like all things planted in the earth
but while a flower always sprouts on the top of a plant, so it is the opposite with buildings
whose shop awnings emerge colorful, age, and are replaced uniformly from the bottom.
if you really want to see how old a building is you have to look up.
sometimes when she has nothing else to do, clara takes mason jars,
sprays the insides with the dim flashes of a weeknight talk show,
and fills them with bouquets of buildings.
she leaves them on the fire escapes of her neighbors.
if you look up at the right time, you can see her gently tugging them ou
from the sky and assigning them unpronounceable names.
she was born in 1892 when her name was the 9th most popular woman's name in brooklyn.