Saudade

In rush hours, in rail tracks,

In red lights, in roadblocks,

In rearview mirrors reflecting the road I've been,

The city I've gone through,

Half-awake, half-asleep

Right here, together with you.

In asphalts, in alleys,

In area codes, in art galleys,

In absurd arguments about all that surrounds us,

And the wicked grin you possess

When you finally find the satisfaction

In things you so deeply obsess.

In tollways, in tunnels,

In truck roads, in travels,

In trains of thoughts that we tread on,

The buzzing of our words,

And the magnetic tension

Coursing through our worlds.

In monuments, in motorways,

In miles per hour, in motorcades,

In mellow snores and mild carelessness,

Memories of sleeping beside you

While the city ticks away—

Tender moments seen only by a few.

In one-way roads, in overpasses,

In oil stations, in oval glasses,

In ornate oratories and oracles of doom,

I find comfort in the wholeness of your being,

In knowing that I can be reckless

With the fullness you always bring.

In nighttimes, in novels,

In nicknames, in never-empty bottles,

In new feelings and nerve-wracking realizations,

And the blood shed by the night poet,

Who meets a new muse once again,

And tries to capture the beauty of even its silhouette.

In silence, in skylines,

In sirens, in sidelines,

In states of painful Saudade,

I will love you ⁠—

Even if it's the last thing

That I will ever do.

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Originally written on January 31, 2020