Shanghai First Kiss
by Tom Mangione
Shanghai, Shanghai, you kissed me first.
Quaking, shaking we quenched our thirst.
Burning tongues on a foreign shore,
Gasping, breathless I yearned for more.
Shine not freedom, but shine with hope.
Tie me down with a velvet rope.
Whisper songs in my ear with care;
Sing them loud for the crowds to stare
Hold you close in the alleyways.
Mix our sweat through the humid days.
Lose ourselves in apartment blocks.
Feel our bodies in rapture shocks.
Lying there in the dark and warm,
Crowds outside begin to form.
Drills on concrete will break and burst:
Shanghai, Shanghai you kissed me first.
T-money on top form! This is excellent. I especially love “rapture shocks”.