Ode to a city.

Part III. The City of lost souls.

The city never belonged to us. Nor to anyone else. Ever. But we still hung on, didn't we?

There were children playing on the streets, there were men and women making love on the fields, there was love in every breath of the city. The guitarist played a sad tune, the visitor sniffed the moist air, the hobo sang of unfulfilled promises as every heart skipped a beat for love. Mon amor, this was a city of love, a city where everyone fell in love, a city everyone fell in love with. But then, as the cars hissed by, so did sordid moments. And then suddenly, we were left with gin and tonic. But why, but why my love did it have to go wrong every time? Just where did we go wrong?

Aeons ago, we were still humans. We were still lovers walking around this same city, my love. We dreamt of moonlit nights and dancing around bright fires. The rooftops of all the buildings seduced us like centerfolds, the dark nooks kept lovely surprises hidden. We shared smokes, we raised our wine glasses and our moist lips spoke of beautiful futures. We forgot we had suffered. We forgot the city eluded us in the past. And we forgot that what is future but reliving the past once again. Just as we made love in the heart of the city, the roads were flooded once again. The city swept us apart like leaves in a storm. But why? We had still not learnt, had we?

For what is it to love you without loving this city first? What is it to sing of you without writing the hymns for her? We all did embrace her. The city is but our first love. The window sills beckoned us, the solitary streetlamp lulled us into deep slumber. We looked for rest into her gardens, we found life in her labyrinthine alleys. The city made us humans, the city always gave birth to us. Just like a messiah she always showed us the ways of love. And yet when we learnt to love her, we held to her close. Just as we did to each other. Smelling one another's pheromones, we slept in tight embraces. The one thing we didn't know, the one thing that mattered most. That when we loved, the only thing left was to give up. Why didn't you let go my love, why didn't I? Of each other, of the city?

And the city never belonged to us. Nor to anyone else. Ever. Neither did we belong together. It is but a city of lost souls. And we my love, walked it together.