Here’s to the fragrance of concrete

 Here’s to the fragrance of concrete
    as it cures.

Yes I said fragrance—
    damp
        yet oddly dusty,
    petrichor of first raindrops.

As you can smell an oncoming storm
    here is the aroma
        of pending permanence,
    a spirit peaceful, unloved.

Honor the skilled arms,
    the corded legs and hairy backs,
        the labor that shaped
    this puddle of stone.

Inhale, savor the dignity of concrete—
    the humility, the brawn,
        the gray bouquet. 

.....

From my book Random Saints

First published in Verse-Virtual. Thank you Firestone Feinberg, editor.