Manhattan, the beautiful city of Manhattan.

Bright lights behind the eyes of the city who sleeps.

She weeps and weeps; begging for peace, but politics, pollution, people… 

They invade.

They take over. 

Her beauty, her grace; they take and they take, until they’ve left her wide awake

The life that once lived in her smile, cut down by chainsaws and clippers, all the while… 

She's watching. 

She is a complicated melody; splashing waves, replaced and paved with stone that hardens her heart. 

Whispering evils, causing loud whirls to come from her lungs. Holes drilled so deep, she no longer weeps, her lifeline has been cut off.

They invade. 

Time and time again, filling her with poison, slowly suffocating her

She's drowning. 

How do we grow and help her to show the colors we’ve chosen to cover

She doesn’t ask for much. Just a chance to heal, a chance for love

The lights to be dimmed, her soul no longer pinned in the heart of a concrete slab

She calls out for help, not quite shouting, she belts…

but the people keep quiet. As if starting a riot for our home is absurd

We feel her branches, like arms reaching out for a warm hug; only to be left stranded, her essence buried in the holes we’ve dug. 

She is the oxygen we breathe, smells and sounds of carnivals and festivals, but we chose to pollute her, cloud the sky with puffs of black smoke.

Tell me, what was the point of putting up a factory that the economy doesn’t need. 

We invade. Take over her space, see the fear on her face; she’s burning up.

You never once asked; simply just walked on past

No one pushes enough to make peace with the city who sleeps.