I am the city that burned and still built bridges,
the city that learned to rise brighter from its ruins.
Don’t let me fall again — not when you know how to fly,
not when wings are waiting for your courage.
You know enough to sense community going up in smoke,
but you also know embers can kindle new beginnings.
You know enough to see the amount of dreams grinded up
but you also know dreams are seeds, and seeds push through concrete
Too many people went to homecoming and never came home —
but the home we build now can welcome generations.
When I said, “Stay close to your roots,” I didn’t mean six feet under
I meant stretch upward, let your branches find light.
I meant to lift as you climb up my concrete body toward eternity.
And my pollen might’ve made you sniffle,
but it doesn’t beat the mental congestion dreams deferred have caused—
still, flowers bloom despite the storms,
still, there is breath, and beauty, and becoming.
Need I remind you that I am your mother,
that I branded parts of myself so that you didn’t get similar circular birthmarks,
that I formed rings of fiery community centered around your rosy cheeks and breathtaking eyes.
Needless to say, I love you,
and needless to say, my love is proof of your power.
But alas, Ashes, ashes, without access you all fall down—
yet with access, you rise, you thrive, you transform.
Access to hugging trees over pavement,
to knowing I am the concrete jungle, but also the garden you can grow.
Access to well-paying jobs and hiring local,
access to reliable and affordable transportation,
access to joy, safety, and belonging.
I’ve raised you so that you could raise me high in the sky,
I raised you to be fly — don’t ground yourself with chains.
Because what’s the point of drip
if it only trickles down,
when it could flow upward, outward, everywhere?
Needless to say, one person can’t push Atlanta 404ward —
it takes a plan that encompasses the structure of the north side,
the creativity of the east side,
the culture of the south side
and the charisma of the west side.
Together, we avoid the flames of my past and present
and set course for an overwhelmingly positive presence,
a horizon remade in resilience,
a skyline radiant with hope
