This patchwork quilt city is composed
of buildings all lined up in rows,
though their stories are of different hues:
reds and browns and whites and blues.

And towering over the different peoples
are the restaurant roofs and church steeples
who compose an elegant skyline,
both jagged and yet quite sublime.

But woven through the very work
are the opinions, pride, and, yes, the quirks
of all the people who live here
who think it mad, yet hold it dear.

A hope spun out on spider’s thread
that breathes new life into the dead;
a grace that lies within the breeze
that lets the gifted breathe with ease.

A long draught for the thirsty man,
and sunshine for the darkened land.
A song that breaks the silent night;
a balm which makes the weary light.

The feeling that the poet seeks,
which brings a blush to ladies’ cheeks;
the artist who paints over blue
by simply saying, “I love you.”