And I love the hustle and bustle of the city

Even the occasional bump or bristle on my shoulder while

Strolling the sidewalk

It reminds me that I am alive

My city speaks to me

Volumes and measures of who we are

Languages, hundreds of them, with multiple hues

All blending in like a single unit

Us and them, indigenous or not

All landing together, dynamically

Adding spice to the home of the southern drawl

Cars creep where it’s dirty

And noise knows no end in the metropolitan

I am a southern girl ‘they say’

And when I travel downtown I live like the business men do

Savoring Pesto Cavatappi and Garlic Bread

But deep down I know who I am

A southern head

Thick and cornbread fed

One of my cities finest

With my lips lickin’ catfish

And homemade French fries and buttered biscuits

Sucking on some gumbo

Swallowing sweet tea

To save my tongue from the fire of spicy shrimp

If it’s not Cajun it’s not cooked

And fish don’t really seem right if it wasn’t found

Barreling at the bottom of some swamp

I know who I am

Pencil skirts and business suits when I’m mimicking the majors

Who run this city

Life by the sweep of a rail

Dodging beggars and city legends

I am but a groove that keeps my city moving

Free to roam on my block

But I don’t cross the color line

My cities invisible barrier creating barricades that try and blot me out

I don’t ride in River Oaks

And I don’t wave in the Woodlands

And heaven help us where we ain’t welcome

But I know better

It is the oppression that drives me to freedom

And only nowhere but in the South

Invisible chains hang low like

Remains that frame the image of this

Newly emerging city

Old and Unforgiving

Dwelling on all its riches

The secrets out

And now they all know what I know

But even still

I beckon my city to be beautiful

Living on the gust from busy winds

Riding on the edge of glory

Remembering Trayvon Martin

And all the others hooded just like him

Acknowledging the way that it is

And praising God for the hope of tomorrow

The good the bad and the ugly

From catfish to Caviar

Collard Greens and Neckbones

Macaroni and Salad Bars

From Downtown to fifth ward

This city is for all of us who take residence here

And call it home

And there is only one

Houston. TX