Summer’s shifting shade does little to shield us

from the obvious. Heat, humidity, a melting pot 

of humanity. Deep in the city.

Our landscapes deteriorate, neighbourhoods in

decline, as we strive to cope with this evolution.  

 

Distended discomfort, rarely placated by fashion,

or politics, or the indifference of it all. Signs and

symbols cannot be ignored.

Boundaries erode between what we know and all 

we have still to learn. Ignorance takes its place.

 

Respect the culture. Significance has its way of 

seeping into common view, shrouding every day 

with language we speak. 

Unknowingly at first, style and substance reach 

beyond all we are capable of understanding. Or try.

 

Routinely we attempt to quench our deep thirst for 

something more. Once exotic, even erotic, now

commonplace. Right here.

The sense of self hungers for a piece of it all, but

we fear what we do not know, say, or hear.

 

History, yes, but is the old lost on vagabonds or 

restless teenagers caught up in the seismic shift 

of popular culture? Questions. 

Answers may not be found in bastardized language

we have come to speak, by destiny more than design.

 

No longer defined by geography, topography or 

empathy, our interpretation of cities, as we age,

disrupts our views of ourselves.

Will others see what so very few of us will realize?

Individually, as a community, we all must change.

 

© 2024 j.g. lewis