A city is much more than its streets.
It is more than the air it breathes.
A city is the people it feeds.
It is the minds it nurtures and breeds.
It is the music it organically grooms.
It is the food and drink it bleeds.
Jacksonville is the city from which I was born.
The city I could not wait to escape and scorn.
Once forgotten, now seemingly reborn.
So many promises of other cities, now broken.
New York and the “making it there”.
California and its progressive hypnotic stare.
Brings me back to this sprawling city
Growing on the banks of a recession.
Blossoming out of lost dreams and depression.
Now full of citizens with hope for their future.
Brewing culture in once lost warehouses.
Whitewashing walls to reclaim respect.
Artists now proudly reflecting its true boldness.
Bold with its large river tapestry.
Bold with its Southern Rock heritage.
You are free to go if you must.
Its youth seem to always return
after years of wanderlust.
Once back they open their eyes.
Letting go of their ego’s disguise.
To finally wake up and realize.
This city grows stronger through