The City Flowers

I stood upon a tower of the world

And watched the movements of a packed humanity,

The stream of lights on endless avenues,

Awake before the rising of the dawn.

A long-awaited visit to a place

That held the vibrant memories of youth

Where vital life and energy once flowed

Within this tenement of flesh and bone.

I thought my heart would leap as in years past

To know again excitement such as this —

The towering mass of steel and glass, the stone

Of ancient structures safe within their forms,

The residue of rays where rivers shone

Peaceful in the quiet evening’s flow.

The crowded streets, the life-force here at play,

The beauty of unknown faces passing by,

All came on me as memories beloved

And yet no movement surged forth from my soul.

For life is lived within and all these scenes

Are but designs on a canvas old and worn

And I must leave the past and all its joys,

My sorrows and my boundless energy,

For I have heard the voice and seen the face

Of one who came and called us to the quest.

Now the city flowers throughout my cells

And circulates in arteries and veins;

Descending peace encompasses my days.

All worlds live in us and share our dreams