Amazing Rio

Rio de Janeiro, a city by the shore: Home to Ipanema, Carnival and dance folklore. As a child, of you I read, from books that showed your Christ. Arms outstretched, He guards your days and lights your sky by night. And now I’ve stood beneath His feet and breathed the air you breathe. I’ve viewed the famous Sugar Loaf, seen monkeys play in trees, visited your fruit stands and drunk from a coconut shell. I’ve searched for creatures hewn in stone that midnight vendors sell, and on your soft and clinging sand, I thrust my toes deep in and glistened under winter sun, brown sugar on my skin. Along Copacabana, I jumped waves, enjoyed a beach which, when they cross an avenue, all visitors can reach. On weekends and on holidays, your several sea fronts teem with hundreds, no with multitudes, of people who all seem content to chat beneath umbrellas, lounging in the sun, while on a road closed to all traffic, others like to run. And on that winding promenade are folks, most clad in shorts, thong-bikinied women, sundry shapes and shades all sorts! Kids whiz by on roller blades; old or young may ride a bike. Many simply merrily stroll, though dressed as for a hike. And in your city’s whole, the countless cars and bodies stream; pedestrians and door-less shops, props in your waking dream. with taxis veering left and right and people catching buses; Cacophony of life your subways and your streets encompass. Children on their mother’s hands; boys in soccer shirts. Men sip beers at sidewalk bars; girls scurry in their tight skirts. Portuguese artisans laid the paths your people walk. What tales immersed in history if cobblestones could talk! More than a metropolis, you are yourself, unique! And I have had the pleasure to have sampled your mystique. For Bic Gi-Sa's Landscape and Towns Contest