I am
an ancient city,
my love.
Of stark poetry,
of hidden delights
and unseen treasures,
a womb in the desert
you may return to
someday.
You may see me as
crumbling walls
and ramshackle forts,
desperate hunger
and impoverishment,
but in the patient quiet of the night
I am vividly alive,
lighting the sky
with the soft glow of my million hazy stars;
singing my lullabies that are
traditional story-songs,
my willowy melodies
gently haunting.
I will lead you down my long romantic winding pathways,
into the hidden crevices of myself,
and there you will glimpse
my illustrious manuscripts,
read my magnificent golden script,
the vastness of my humanity
and my wisdom
unveiled
and laid bare
for you.
Come,
my love,
enter
inside my city,
enter
inside my story,
enter
inside me.
Marvelous!