The City's Serenade

The City's Serenade

By Michael Cannata

Through it all she sleeps, soothed by a lullaby.

The noise of the city produced a symphony of sounds that carried through the night. The steady stream of traffic meshed with the low hum of the machinery that brings the city to life. The hum reverberated in the background; a mechanical movement that became the rhythm of life. It pulsed endlessly beneath the surface of the streets and sidewalks.  A constant cacophony of life's uttering's

The wails of the distant sirens lend an urgent cry that waxed and waned in the distance. The drone of the engines in flight filled the far away sky. In the distance a door slams. A shot rings out. The scream that follows adds its note to the urban melody that echoes through the streets and alleys.

Through it all she sleeps, as the voice of the city whispers to her

The people march steadily along its paths. Their footsteps become a measure that becomes a heartbeat. The noise of the city becomes a voice that rages and whispers; it calls and cajoles. It resonates with fear and awe. Violent vibrations coupled with subtle sighs that fill the air with power and passion; a velvet thunder that roils and rolls in a never ending crescendo.

Through it all she sleeps, as the voice of the city comforts her.

In her mother’s arms she slumbers, contented. In lyrical cooing, hushed pledges of love between mother and baby are spoken without words.  She doesn’t hear the angst and anger that the night cries carry. They blend in harmony with the pleas of pain and the peals of laughter.  They are the verse and refrain of the city’s composition. She doesn’t yet feel the fear beneath the hushed tones of the night. In the dreaded darkness she dances in dreams.

Through it all she sleeps, as the voice of the city serenades her.

The ebb and flow of the tides of life against the shores of the metropolis wash over her. Carried on the cool night breeze, the song of the city croons softly to her. The cacophony becomes a symphony. The reverberations become a rhythm.  The movement of the mechanisms becomes music.  The noise of the city becomes the lilting voice, singing a melody that echos in her dreams.

Through it all she sleeps, soothed by a lullaby.