from The Sound of Color:
In a huge blur, the beeping, screaming and the pink rush all zoom by. The smell of chlorine mingles with the fragrance of the cooking hot dogs and gyros. We run around the fountain of pink color, neither of us knowing who is chasing whom, and suddenly, the chaos of rush hour surrounds us as we both collapse and watch nervous drivers headed for I-95.
Arch Street is where all the rallies took place when we tried to defeat Bush. It is where there are two McDonald'ses, a Starbucks, and two fountains. From it, I can see City Hall, the Art Museum, Suburban Station, and the Parkway, where Live 8 took place. The memories from this very spot at Love Park, even, play in my head like a fast-paced film in flashes of vibrant colors. . . .
I stare at the LOVE statue. A deep red, the letters are bordered with silver siding. Silver frames imbued with red. Red frozen under the hot sun. LOVE stands stubborn, against the wind and the rain. It stands through all the festivals, the rallies, the protests, and the concerts.
LOVE remains even now, as an explosion of laughter occurs on the other side of the fountain, distinct above the commotion of the cars speeding, honking and screeching here and there. It is heard over the clatter of the lunch trucks as the cheesesteaks begin to cook, and over the confusion of the bus and train passengers as they cross over from Suburban Station, running through red lights, their Starbucks beverages sloshing onto their professional clothing. . . . Three people have stacked themselves on top of one another, each sitting on the others' shoulders. . . . The boys fall on top of each other as I knew they would. . . . Night starts to fall, and Ryan and I walk over to a restaurant across the street that offers outdoor dining so we can watch the materializing lights of all the skyscrapers. . . . Everywhere I look, lights twinkle in the tall buildings. City Hall is beginning to glow. I think that Penn is getting hungry, because his smirk begins to look fake. But his job is to watch over the city. He cannot just neglect his duties due to such banal needs.