The City We Co-Compose

By Camara Gaither

I’ve searched for stories in this skyline.
I’ve relished in this city’s savory, unwritten recipes.
I’ve learned the limbs of this landscape.
Gazed on every garden I can go to,
Smelled citrus-scented fields.
I’ve breathed in this land of lakes,
Let it be my oasis when my body has been a desert.

And I’ve let kinetic street corners carry me,
Strolled quietly along cul-de-sacs.
Lingered when I see defiant flowers
Wandering within cracked concrete.
This is a city that has much to speak.
And I think… there’s so much to love here.

I love the way this city unleashes art,
How it converses in spray paint and clay.
How music and poetry saturate a Saturday.
Our creations conspire against what’s unspoken
And tend gently to what’s still broken.

I love the way this city is a homecoming for all nations.
Tourists and vacations… yet,
We are also natives and newcomers.
A spectrum of skin,
We are an atlas of accents.
We break “unbelonging” with a welcome,
Wide enough to hold differences.
Human enough to hold each other’s humanity.

I see the way this city treats a tragedy,
How we host it like a guest, thoughtfully.
No matter the day or darkness,
We endure any downpour and still search for sun,
Both where we gather our lessons from.
A rainbow remains,
Still showing us how to open ourselves
Wider to wisdom and love.

I watch the way this city is held
By the hands that harvest and help.
By teachers and farmers and first responders,
By civic servants and service workers.
How they quietly keep this city smooth,
Shaping what we live from mornings to midnights.

I know the way this city calls the doubtful and daring to dream,
To take a risk, to reimagine a life well-lived.
Though it may seem elusive,
Orlando makes ideas conclusive.
This city summons people determined to do something.
People that become noble nonprofits.
Families that are the sweat and boldness of small business.
Coalitions crafting a makeshift program,
Meeting a need at just the right time.

We are the city that knows
It’s never too late, if your body still has breath.
So don’t stop dreaming yet.

We are the city that holds its history and horizon,
Integrating wisdom and keeping watch for new vision.

We are more than a city who woos the world
With amusement and thrill.
We are how we live together,
Hold depth and all the dreams we till.

And I swear… this city and us
Co-compose something sacred each day,
A rhythm, a remembrance of what has been,
And who we dare to become.

Orlando
An unfinished masterpiece.
With each of us offering
Another brushstroke, another note.
Together, becoming a chorus.
No single voice could ever sing
Our City Beautiful alone.