Moscow

I walk the streets

and feel this city.

The metro walls

too often confine

and I need to touch

the pavement

in order to understand.

This is my Moscow.

It is not a government

or a position

or a single entity

but a people

a way of life

a family.

And for a brief moment

they let me breathe their air

take in the essence

of what makes them

Moscovites.

And while the rain-laden

clouds bend

to embrace the ground,

Moscow embraces me

with its smells

its sounds

its history

its vibrancy.

And I live here.

And I nearly grasp what it is

to live here.