Teen Ink

   Treeless cliffs,

Rigid gray,

Molded around

A city

of orange roofs,

Shuttered windows.

Where mopeds putter

along cobbled streets,

Past aluminum banks,

and barnacled cathedrals.

A city of McDonald's billboards,

And streetcorner fish markets.

Beeping car alarms,

and yipping poodles.

Roaring soccer games,

Held in crumbling arenas.

A city of waxen banana trees,

and gnarled rose bushes.

A city of under-dressed youth,

and over-dressed age.

Where nightclubs shake

on Roman foundations.

And Van Gogh's precious light

illuminates emerald waves.