Wind blows here as if 
its hills demand a tax 
for their landscape,
clipping through a jacket 
to snatch breath
straight from my lungs. 
A steady palette of neutrals
quietly lulls -
gray skies, tan buildings,
so unassuming and indistinct
that a blue sky
startles,
jerking me from my daze
as swiftly as these
seagulls’ cries.
Hilly streets, 
breakneck cobblestones,
a castle looming large…
Edinburgh kindness abounds.