A cobalt sky
fading to white
glows benignly
in the morning light.

Leafy canopies
listlessly hang
on a lonely tree
beside a nature strip.

Untidy shrubs
confined behind a hedge
fail to conceal
screaming graffiti on a wall.

Traffic builds
on grim, grey bitumen
groaning dismally
like a beast in agony.

Curtains
and artificial air
replace the cobalt sky
with TV images and insecticide.