Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of
there's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
These lights will inspire you"
-Alicia Keys
I’m Queens born
Brooklyn hardened
Manhattan upper east side glossy
LES bohemian
and Staten Island softened
I discovered nature
moving north of the Bronx
Climbing rocks in Rockland
and listening to Sleepy Hollow
winds tell tales
I’m a seed from this apple’s core
I bleed blue for Giants
and cheer on KNICKerbockerS and METropolitanS
holding a genetic grudge against pinstriped players
But this city is prison
Hidden under flashing lights
Insomniac gritty city
They say if you can make it here
you’ll make it anywhere
But what happens when dreams die?
And they don’t just die in project hallways
they die under Broadway’s bright lights too
Here, you can pick your poison
and drown your sorrows in distraction
Vegas ain’t got nothing on us
This city sweats sin
Lady Liberty is like Eve
this juicy apple so tempting
We’re like Snow White
without her 7 dwarves
because this poison puts our sanity to sleep
while chaos reigns
Justifying the insane
Like break dancers
we break our backs for pennies
tossed into tip jars
we call paychecks
Waging war for a living wage
but is there really such a thing
We settle for roaches and rats
because our addresses make us
bourgi
But it’s when it’s quiet and we’re all alone
many of us sit in uncomfortable silence
Because we don’t know who we are
We lost ourselves out there in the city din
but we’ll get up and do it again
It’s like our favorite drug
Melting pot of cultures and comforts
If they make it out there
you can find it here
so why would you ever leave?
I broke free from its spell for 2 years
Yet it called me back
Whispering that all my dreams
laid here in these boroughs
In this maze of buildings
Buildings that scrape skies
made of cold concrete, structured steel and glass
I thought I could just work hard
and play harder
But those whispers are now screams
Like the one’s heard in Bellevue’s white rooms
or within Creedmoor’s stone walls
This city pulsates fun and pain
It sucks us down
Bleeds us dry
But we still enjoy the ride
Those who get to break free
understand my words
Get the city out of your system
and you’ll start to see a difference
But how do you rehab from a life you’ve always known
Bad habits die hard
but here I am going for my second
and hopefully last round of rehab
South of Mason Dixon lines
where the Ghettos are grittier
but reality is soaked in
Just 4 hours and 4 states away
I’m still unable
to give it up cold turkey
Still needing a hit every now and again
Boxed dreams still in the back of my mind
Wanting to make it here
so I can go anywhere
This city is still home to the senses
Having the ability to heighten and disable
my defenses
I’ve loved and lost here
Born, bled and nearly died here
My first love and never-ending heartache
My Love-Hate relationship
My muse and inspiration
Queens born
Brooklyn hardened
Manhattan upper east side glossy
LES Bohemian
Staten Island Softened
Rocked in Rockland
Asleep in Sleepy Hollow
California sun grown
Alexandria mellowed
This Phoenix spreads her wings
but knows this nest will never be empty
I’m a seed from this sour apple’s core
NY will always be my first home
