Plants vs. Concrete

I am walking with my daughter along a disused farm road when I point out a spot where the concrete has split and fractured. The two halves look like the aftermath of a small earthquake, with weeds poking out from the rubble.

“How did the road break?” she asks. “Did someone hit it? Did someone drop something on it?”

“It must have been from tree roots somewhere,” I murmur.

We turn and see a massive oak: stately, silent, unmoved by our presence. My daughter hides behind me in fright, fearing another upheaval could strike at any moment.





Melissa Fu grew up in Northern New Mexico and now lives near Cambridge, UK. Her prose and poetry has appeared in several journals including Bare Fiction, Envoi, Right Hand Pointing, and the Blue Heron Review.

You can see more of her work in issue 4.4