vicissitudes

my eyes aren’t used to all this blinding light,
my ears refuse all these deafening sounds,
my nose rejects all the smokes and dusts in flight,
and my heart yearns that place where love abounds.

a stranger i am to this place I don’t belong!
alas! this city isn’t what it seems to be:
t’is ain’ t a place i can freely sing my own song,
nor t’is a haven for my spirit to run free.

the skyscrapers overshadowed my dreams,
the heavy traffic delayed my progress,
my ambitions were nailed to iron beams,
all these made me kiss my longed-for success.

yet amidst the chaos of urban life,
fate gave me something for which i can fight:
a sweet kiss that takes away the sadness and strife,
a warm fire that drives away the cold of night.

it’s you—my love—that makes this city bearable:
you dim all the blinding lights with your grace,
you silence the noise with promises so faithful,
you calm my storms with your gentle embrace.

you changed the city from a wild jungle
to a place of total love and comfort:
you made me see things from a new angle,
like i found oasis in an arid desert.

and now the whole city screams your name,
as every steel and granite and concrete
is a reminder i am no longer the same:
that what once was pure bitter is now truly sweet!

and now my eyes admire your calming lights
of pastel and neon and every color and hue,
and in the noise that drowns my mind, my heart delights
because my ears still hear your promise of “i love you.”