An Empire State of Mind

They ask me how it is when I call them back home
They ask how the city life is
They ask is it everything it is cracked up to be
They ask is it how they see it in the movies

I tell them that I’m sad
But you’re in New York!

I tell them that I’m upset
But you’re in New York!

I tell them I am alone
But you’re in New York!

I tell them streets are piled high with trash
The dogs poop where they may
So every step not soiled is a blessing in disguise

I tell them that the characters you meet are always performing
Sometimes they make you cross the other side of the street.
Others perform beautifully

I tell them how many people walk the streets
How crowded the subway is
But you’ll feel so alone
as you step among them
or crammed in between.

I tell them so loudly
of how exhausted I am
But my words are under train cars

Instead, they are proud
They praise my courage
They acknowledge my drive
They congratulate my ambition
And so I sit there in wonder
On the other end of the line
As we both are listening in awe
on how the other perceives the other one's life

There is a spectacle about New York
that others still hold on to
that no matter how you put it
is a dream that will never seem to fade
as a goal in other people’s eyes.

To them,
I am their dream coming true

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