You ask to hug me and I accept

I jump into your comforting arms gratefully

It’s warm and sunny in there

You grip me and grip me and I start to sweat

I ask you to let go but you refuse until October

I walk along your beige sidewalk

I think of each step I take, not knowing where I’m walking to

I look at all the houses with dead grass lawns

I think about which one I would want to live in someday

I can imagine a life where I stay with you always

But we’ll probably get sick of each other

I brag about you to all my friends

“She’s the capital you know”

They all roll their eyes at my pride for you

But sometimes I complain about you too

I say that I get bored of you

They all agree and say that their city’s better

Then I defend you with my life

I walk through the buildings that seem huge to me

Others would probably scoff at them

Same as so many downtowns

But it’s better to me because I’ve found my favorite coffee shop

I order the same thing everytime I go there

But every time I get nervous to talk to the cashier

I forget about how wonderful you are sometimes

I beg for more things to do

But you just say I should be grateful

And you’re right, I should

So I do as you say and find beauty in everything

I find it in my school, the old architecture making it not so bad to come everyday

Or on the highway, staring at the hundreds of bright green trees

And in my bedroom, each object taking me back to a different era of growing up in you