under the metallic morning mist
a chaotic array of neon lights
woo for attention
shimmering and shaping
a washboard of colors

a boy peaks from a window
caged by pungent outskirts
chained by ropes of smoke
rising from chimneys

a lady holding a pink-laced hat
dips her head in ceremonious farewell
her sea-green eyes surveying
the glamorous city of lights
before her figure vanishes
onto a train
of eager and weary travelers

the machine moans and rumbles
towards the horizon
past trunks burdened with coal
past men drunk with sorrow
past cityscapes of graffiti
past hanging bows of telephone wire

but the boy remains
surrounded by factories
rumbling to life
their blinding robotic flashes
brainwashing his thoughts of other lands

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