Magical City

It was raining the first time I saw my tower
That is, the first time I saw it in reality
In my mind I'd seen it many times before
Standing by the ocean
Looking out of a train window at night
Even the structure I made with blocks as a child was this same tower
That long ago

My heart beat faster than the raindrops
As I looked up and saw it painted against the sky
The outside of the building was as beautiful as the outside of anything can be
But the inside was pure enchantment

The elevator operator was Merlin
My feet touched the magic carpet
As I ran down the hall
And the key that I turned in the lock was Aladdin's lamp

As I entered the tower for the first time
I knew that at last I had found contentment
A home that I would leave many times yet never really leave
I went over to the window and looked out at my beloved town
The building's were constant flames
Bright, shining, stronger than the rain
And on the street below
Were the people that built that fire and kept it alive
Nine million keepers of the flame

The sound of traffic on a New York street creates a strange music
It's an orchestra conducted by the Statue of Liberty
Where the words ingrained forever on her side
It's a great organ played upon by Father Knickerbocker
Master organist
I opened my tower windows wide to let the music in

Uptown
Downtown
Chinatown
Harlem
Broadway
Times Square
Broadway, Broadway, Broadway

The Statue of Liberty

Give me your time, your poor, your Harlem masses
Yearning to breathe free
The retched refuse of your teaming show
Send these {?} to me
I lit my lamp beside the golden dawn