A proper Ode to Houston

No shade on u/Saubande but I wanted to take a shot. Feel free to adjust and add on. We can make this a community effort and turn it into a true reflection of Houston.

Ode to Houston

Houston, city dripping in humidity, Where stepping outside means instantly wearing the air. If you know, you know – and every Houstonian knows.

Oh, city of endless freeways, I-10 at rush hour, 610 looping like a frustrating infinity symbol, Construction cones as permanent as NASA's rockets. Potholes big enough to swallow dreams, storm drains clogged like arteries, and floods that turn streets into bayous – we curse you, we love you, we adapt.

Houston, where food speaks our truth: Taco trucks preaching the gospel at 2 a.m., Shipley's glaze on Sunday mornings, Whataburger’s honey butter prayers at dawn. H-E-B reigns supreme, and kolaches hold court in corner donut shops. Brisket debates divide families, Crawfish boils unite neighbors, Buc-ee’s is our sacred pilgrimage, with bathrooms clean enough to heal souls.

This city, a melting pot simmering with spice, Vietnamese pho shops next to Mexican bakeries, Bollywood beats mingling with country twang, Slim Thug and Bun B narrating our daily grind, and Beyoncé crowned as queen. "Houston, we have a problem" turned into a badge of pride.

And oh, the endless love and suffering of our sports, Astros, Rockets, Texans. A rollercoaster of hope and despair, yet we always believe this year is ours, Texans fans with eternal optimism, Astros bringing redemption, and Rockets fueling nostalgia.

Montrose, where weirdness is sacred, Midtown’s weekend blur, and Galleria tourists circling forever for parking. We’ve got swangas poking out like cowboy spurs, and Altimas eternally wearing paper plates. The Rodeo’s a yearly pilgrimage, and bayous – our beauty and bane – shape our lives.

"Be Someone," painted above I-45, reminding us in fading spray paint of our persistent, resilient dreams.

Houston, you hot, messy masterpiece, A contradiction, frustrating yet irresistible, You’re humid, congested, you’re chaotic, and yet you’re home. Forever, home.