the city

there is just something freeing
in shuffling through the spinning glass doors at the train station
and being slapped in the face with CITY:
horns honking.
change jingling in homeless people's cups.
high heels clicking.
a thousand different cell phone conversations.
wind - always wind.
the heat of the sun beating down on scorching pavement.
lights, posters, signs, billboards -
words demanding my attention in every direction.
bus exhaust.
stinky sewers.
nail polish fumes streaming out of the salon.
that unmistakable aroma of italian food.
and MOVEMENT.
constant movement.
it doesn't wait for anyone.
this is the city, and i love it.

i somehow feel the liberation among the hustle and bustle
to be whomever i want to be.
swimming in a sea of faces,
nobody knows me.
i am my own secret.
i have every power to cast off
all preconceived notions of self,
stripping myself of the layers
of image,
of expectation,
of fear of man,
of incompetence.
i can do anything in the city.

i sail down the river in the canary colored boat,
slicing through ocher waters,
arms open wide,
camera in hand,
basking in the sunshine
and the motion of the city,
the wind flipping my hair across my face,
my lens capturing tiny bits of life with every click
to be treasured later.

in the mean time,
i savor every second,
wishing it to never end...
this outward outpouring of creativity,
this living, breathing wellspring of energy,
this eternal pulsing of color.
filled with wonder,
i'm rendered breathless
in my sparkling ocean of life.