Come through this dream creation
As the sunlight hits your face stories awaken for a new day
Your ghost-like reflection looking toward the horizon
The Hudson framed within a window
Measurements of greatness only told in folklore
Walk the streets, run the hills, and climb the stairs
Make it to the top floor!
City skyline commands you forward
Shining edifices of a modern age meet history
Weaving baroque with brick
To erect an evolving city
Instantly a part of what you see
Transform as you say,
“Manhattan give me your skyline!”
The self falls away only to be captured in the landscape
Colors of settling stories quilted together
A piece of you stitched into view
—Selected for Honorable Mention in the competition for the Steve Kowit Poetry
Prize 2016, and first published in the San Diego Poetry Annual 2016-17
(Garden Oak Press, February 2017); appears here with permissions from both poet and
publisher.
With a background in international politics, Ciera frequently travels the world drawing inspiration from the places she visits.