Founded circa 1306 BC; population 1.26 million, annual tourist population 8.08 million.
Cigarette butts glow like candles along the curb,
Still flickering after those last intense puffs
That took away the stresses of the daily grind
And replaced them with smoky satisfaction.
The fumes of the Underground infuse
With the toxicity of those spirals of smoke
That are caught in the rush of passing cars.
An urgency prevails amongst the timelessness
Of the amblers, travellers, flâneurs
Who search for the deepest rooted culture
In this permanent wave of exigent travail
Crashing through the delicate history towering down.
The cobbles are eternally awake
To welcome the next pilgrim, at leisure or otherwise.
One after the other they fall into this sea
And are swept away
To become part of the city, the oxygen that it breathes.
Everyone is faceless, native or nomad,
Lost and, alas, found in the ashes of burning tobacco and racing cars,
Oblivious entirely to their neighbours lost beside them:
This endless carnival of vague apparitions parades the streets,
A choir of angels, a celestial congregation from around the globe.
Their voices, low and reaching, soft and stark,
All call in unison, joyous in measure,
'Welcome to Prague.'
