Nothing can pry that city away from me

I keep coming back to it

I travelled all the way across the country

To rid myself of it

To exhale it

To syphon it off from my blood





But it's in me too deeply

So deeply that late at night

As I lay in bed listening to my breathing

It falls into me and seeps out of me

I drift into the haze of dreamscapes

Knowing it's still fully there, concrete as City Hall





It's with me in traffic

Blows a kiss with every honking horn

It talks to me on the radio

Where every announcer sounds like the pattering of shoes

The clap of each syllable reflecting

From polished marble





That city is with me in this city

Waving hello with every passing bus

It is with me in the country

In the mountains and in the desert

Calling me back, blue-lit and weeping

Into its open arms





The city says sweet things and makes me laugh

It bats its eyelashes and spills oil from its taxis

The city blushes when killers run loose

And curses when beggars ask for change

The city is ashamed of itself