City Lights and a Song In The Air

[kloogs]

Driving home tonight, I took in all that I passed, from the smallest drifting leaf to the highest skyscraper. So much of what I saw represented home to me. Familiar things I’ve grown used to seeing every day. They all seemed meant for my eyes at those precise moments. Driving through neighborhoods that overlooked the skyline, I saw the pinkish glow where the city lights met the moonlight. I saw a homeless man walking across the street in the cold. I passed the promenade building, lit up like a tiara against a black velvet backdrop. The Woodruff marquis presenting an upcoming art display. The enormous illuminated American flag, nobly rippling in perfectly spaced intervals across the sky. I rode by the mob of young fans and tour buses outside of the Masquerade on a busy night. I took the exit ramp on Freedom Parkway and passed the embankment alongside the Carter Center…always the greenest grass in town regardless of the season. And as I rounded the corner to my house, the last notes of “Song In The Air” played out through my speakers. And all the pieces fit together like a mosaic. And I thought of how much I was going to miss this place. How disorienting it will be waking up to a beautiful English countryside…knowing that my city is an ocean away.

I am undoubtedly going into an open-heart surgery. My experiences will most definitely leave significant fingerprints on my soul. I know I will see terrible and beautiful things. And I can’t wait to impart a new piece of myself unto my city. I can’t wait to bring it back with me.

I haven’t even left yet and already I’m getting homesick. Do me a favor and explore your surroundings for me while I’m gone. I’m going to miss you, Atlanta.