though your streets are paved
with steel not gold
there is beauty in your history
your light comes from the lives
of a quarter of a hundred million souls
you are the mother of the gods of the people
who appease with blood and fire
you are the image in the temples and face
your people can not look upon

even from the conquest you retain
immortal splendor
you impart your life on those
who would force you to surrender
over your face are scattered monuments
to the power of your resilience
on the hearts of the people
you have signed in blood
a reminder of the price of freedom

I’m leaving the city of the angels
I’m out on my own
I’m sailing on a distant shore
at home I feel like a stranger
I feel so alone
here I feel like I’ve come home
in the city of the gods

your language is a liquid flowing
in and through each part of me
you enchant me with your words
you inspire me with your countenance
you are the mother of the people
who laid down their lives for the
freedom you gave them
you are the image
in the minds of the people
who have scattered all over the earth

I’m leaving the city of the angels...