Cities

Cities rise and crumble,
Time passes like love, light, in the time that it takes to change a life.
The war within you, without you, quiets, like in your sleep
When you dream of that one time that you found a butterfly on the rosebush
Just outside your door as you waited for the world to change around you.

Cities fall and rebuild,
Call out to that person that never wanted to listen, they care but can't even look,
Just in case they see you for what you are, in case you fall apart in their arms,
In that moment when they realise they want to be somewhere else.
And then you're screaming, hating, loving, break me down and change me.

Cities change and progress,
The violin that you hear in your head, like music, but not so, screeches painfully
And then stammers as he touched your face, lightly, making your stomach clench,
The moments that you refuse to forget even if one day they will break your heart,
You crawl towards the glimmer of hope even if you've seen it a thousand times.

Cities destroy and create,
The parting of flesh, the first time you felt him inside you, destroy me all you want,
But only if you stay to help me pick up the pieces, rebuild me into something more.
Like the time that your younger brother broke the Lego creation that you loved,
But even when you built something new together you still hated him.

Cities give and take,
Remember when you reached the top of the bouldering wall, only to fall,
Your legs gave out as you hit the ground and you fell again, and again, and again.
You felt like you had achieved something as you looked to the past glory
Of what you had achieved all by yourself, because who needs anyone else.

Cities die and rot,
The night that sucked you in, the electricity that ran though your veins and head,
Kept you dancing through the night even when your feet hurt,
Even more than that time that you broke your ankle trying to jump across the river
That was always too wide for you to even come close to clearing.