Affair. A piece and a love inspired by New York.
The sun paints the pinkest sky The twilight beckons its last goodbye City lights twinkle in readied reply
These are the nights in New York.
These are the nights that brought her in and captured her heart in an instant. But it was the unassuming passing of the days that turned her head in disbelief. Each time she strolled through Central Park, she marveled at its changes. How did the seasons fade to another so fast, she asked - of the trees and the birds and the passersby. The whispering shadows of the Park murmured their reply. It was neither slow nor fast, they reasoned -- the passage of time was acting just as it always did. Winter then Spring, Summer then Fall.
In the seasons of her heart, she yearned for a perpetual Fall. Battered by wintry strangers, she at once buried her heart deep in the earth, with patient hope that come the thawing Spring, she'd salvage it somehow. But it wasn't until she met him in the scorching heat of summer that she felt the first stirrings of her heart once more. And finally, it was with that first kiss of Fall, that she knew her heart was undeniably alive again.
Her heart had to continually expand to love all that is the city of New York. She hadn't anticipated the amount of love she'd need, when she took on something so new. With each new adventure and avenue explored, with each new stranger-turned-familiar face and cold shoulder-turned-welcomed embrace -- she felt her heart expand. And this thought arriving so early in her city life -- she couldn't imagine the size her heart would be by the time she knew the city over. She smiled gratefully, knowing a big heart was her gift, and having reasons for an ever-expanding one was truly a fortunate reward.
Her New York love story wasn't one of love at first sight, nor did it come easy or unchallenged. Like every good relationship, it took bravery and perseverance, belief in the intangible, and faith in the unconventional. Her bravery and faith, belief and unwavering heart only grew as New York taught her lesson after precious lesson. And it was with the arrival of one very important love lesson that she found herself most enamored. New York taught her, that to love the city did not mean she had to know it in and out and all over - but to love the parts it had shared with her, and love them wholly. It taught her to allow for a patiently growing love, as she learned more and more about the city, and the city learned of her. And with that lesson, she realized, that perhaps that's all she should ask of another -- to create a space that is safe, to learn about eachother, and more importantly, to value the lessons that harbor continued learning about who she is, and who she would become, in this great city of New York.