This poem, with metaphors, describes getting lost in the huge megacity of Shanghai, China. |
I live a routine life Governed by rules, strict schedules There is no adventure for me School, home, and the mall… That’s really about it I always keep to the right side of roads And it takes the same amount of steps On the yellow sidewalks to school Every single day, every single time But today, I am unlucky I am lost In the megacity I live in This concrete jungle called Shanghai Traffic signs change at odd intervals But no one cares anyway And buildings rise and fall Almost like soap bubbles Everyone racing through busy lives Cars, citizens, the occasional dog They don’t stop to enjoy the moment They all disappear in a dull grey blur I am lost It’s as if I’ve never been here before The intersection I’m standing at Makes no sense—nothing’s familiar I’m clueless, with help nowhere near What should I be feeling? Panic? Surprise? Frustration? Perhaps anger? I’ve lived in Shanghai my whole life Yet everything’s so new, so strange I am a foreigner An outsider Help, I scream The structures surrounding me Are starting to spin in wild circles The cars are stopping, turning Driving in full speed, all towards me The pollution in the air Is swirling, whirling into a tornado Peoples’ heads are morphing Into something lesser human It’s like a really bad horror movie Is it me? Or is it everything else? How do I get out of here? I’m seriously lost |