Really Seeing Things

I climbed to the top of St. Peter’s on a dark and crowded stair
And I stood and watched the city gasping for air
I stumbled down a mineshaft in a medieval town
Holding to my lantern like a sailor going down

Crossing California in the heart of Chinatown
Saw written on a tower “son, observe the time”
And I passed by the Sir Francis and Huey Newton’s home
On streets where ghosts of sailors and Ferlinghetti roam

And saw an Artic Tern flying pole to pole
Songs and cats developesd with some patience and care
At every border crossing I had nothing to declare