"Having grown up in South Philadelphia" the author writes, "I found inspiration in what might be otherwise considered wretched places filled with broken glass, rusted fences, decaying factories, and trash-strewn neighborhoods. I remember, at 5 or 6 years old, being fascinated with a dandelion that grew from a crevice in concrete. There were few flowers or trees in South Philadelphia then. Discovering hidden beauty in a coarse environment set the stage for a lifetime of seeking it."

In this collection of poetry by writer Thomas Curley, the author uses the street where he lives as an analogous metaphor for a changing and evolving 21st Century American social landscape.

Curley's street that looks like America is our own street, and the poem is a work for all of us. It serves as a snapshot of 21st Century America as a place in the midst of change and redefinition of itself.