Under Siege

We are under siege.

Beset from all sides.

Our assailant is patient.

When left unchecked their ranks swell.

They can outlast stone, concrete, brick and iron.

And so they wait for us to move on and give up the fight.

So that they may reclaim what was once only theirs.

Yet they bare no grudge.

Their war is not wrought of vengeance.

It is a war of creation.

The harder the war rages, the more life there is to be found.

So I am pleased to see their strongholds.

And their valiant efforts bring me comfort.

For their occupation would be harmonious.

It would provide ideal conditions for new beginnings.

Our defeat may not be so tragic.

So let these outcroppings serve as a reminder.

That we are more fragile than flowers and leaves.

And that there are others who would make use of what we call ours.

So we should appreciate what we have.

And what the cost of that is.

We must be humble.

For we are more plants than gods.

And for plants we are just a brief phase.

They were here long before us.

And are set to be so long after.

So before we rush to play god,

perhaps we should look to play at being like plants.

To ensure we do not cause ourselves to succumb to the siege.

But if we do,

the meek truly shall inherit the earth. 

These pictures were taken in an English city.

Of over 100,000 population.

They were all taken on one single 10 minute walk.

Across the city centre.

The sheer volume of pictures is to illustrate how much we do not see.

To show that even in our cities we are not sole masters.

That life will take any inch you let it.

That it will try anything, anywhere, despite resistance or hardship.

And that there is so much to be seen where one does not normally look.