Moscow

Cold grey heart, all pebbled with gold
Take me back and swallow me in
To days we'll never remember, nights we'll never forget
To enclosed spaces and the echoing of coughs

We're keeping you at eye's length
An impersonal distance, matching open spaces that glare
And enfolded in these streets are rattling unvoiced whispers
Patterned spires as intricate as thoughts

Shady booths and untouched food
Take a bite, and let it linger
You wash it down with spirits stinging
Wait for reality to sink back in

All of a headache we've rushed back to the surface
The snow piles browning, the freshly tainted air
English voices wheedle and dip
You know the history, but is the feeling here?

The desperate entrapment of neon promises
These beggars, these ballet dancers, these billionaires
Five story Khrushchevs and paintbox palaces
A city's eyes stay open wide, then shut.