Rooftop Garden

[Verse 1] Mara found a patch of tar above the avenue Measured it in footsteps, marked the corners with blue chalk Asked the folks from six and nine to bring a little soil By saturday the stairwell smelled of basil and wet earth [Pre-Chorus] A crate of seedlings, borrowed hose Three different hands to make it grow [Chorus] Up where the buildings catch the last of day We turn this ledge into a place to stay You bring the mint, i’ll bring the thyme We’ll trade a little green, a little time And when the windows start to shine below Our rooftop garden has a heart of its own [Verse 2] Mr. alvarez taught the kids to tie the tomato vines Nia painted numbered signs for every row Someone set a tin-can chime beside the climbing beans The whole block came to see the first red pepper show [Pre-Chorus] A crate of seedlings, borrowed hose More hands than any one plant knows [Chorus] Up where the buildings catch the last of day We turn this ledge into a place to stay You bring the mint, i’ll bring the thyme We’ll trade a little green, a little time And when the windows start to shine below Our rooftop garden has a heart of its own [Bridge] One summer storm bent down the sunflower row We tied them up with strips of bright blue cloth Mara said, “a thing can lean and still keep growing” By dusk, the golden heads were facing west again [Final chorus] Up where the buildings catch the last of day We turn this ledge into a place to stay You bring the mint, i’ll bring the thyme We’ll trade a little green, a little time And when the windows start to shine below Our rooftop garden has a heart of its own A heart of its own [Outro] Above the avenue, the green goes on