I stood outside a neon fortress,
Light beaming in all directions.
The pallid edges pushing out,
Then receding, as if the light
Was a pulsating heart beat.
You could sense the energy's
Eb, as if it tires, then with a smile
Runs full force into the night.
A brash and brave endeavor.
A childlike sense of play
In its insistent **** with the night.
There was a false sense of warmth
Parading in sheep's skin
Like the clever and daring fox amongst the fold.
Still the wash of warm was overcoming
And let the mouth ease into a resting smile.
Now with the tension leaving,
My face still feels almost plastic
Slowly melting to a calm demeanor.
I have to wonder if I had been standing agape,
A resting ***** face glared at all who met my eyes.
They instanly regret sending strangers smiles.
I notice how the sounds of the city
Are a blare so bold
They fade to a quiet white noise
Like the sound of electricity
Flowing through a silenced TV,
The lulling hum soon ignored.
The only difference being
That the hymn the city sings,
Unlike the hum of the TV, is so loud
That when the mind settles in
And begins to ignore it's finer edges,
You would ignore the screams of your mother,
The cry of a baby brother,
Or any child.
In fact my ears tune for just a moment
To the cry of a lost child.
A woman in a velvet purple overcoat
With a mother's face and soft voice speaks,
"Oh dear, have we gotten lost?"
The words make me feel like we're in this together
And a little less alone.
The scene slowly recedes into the black,
Thick,
Tendrils
Of the unnoticed
And forgotten.
It reminds me,
This why the city is a calloused place
And an act of kindness goes so far.