Listen to this freestyle poem about Aurora Avenue

What does Aurora mean to you? Al Jawann Johnson answered that question with a spontaneous poem:

"Aurora is to me the beast in the night. It is the beauty that I see in the streetlights. It is the wayward women walking to and fro. It is the depressed joy on the homeless as they go. It is the broad city lights and cars that drive by so fast. It is the backstreets where quiet streets and houses put their heads on the pillow at last."

KUOW's Region of Boom team is spending this spring on Washington state Route 99, a highway with a story to tell about where we came from and where growth is taking us.

Follow the series: Along the Mother Road

You can hear Johnson's poem by playing the audio above, along with answers to that same question from Jacqueline Moulton, Sharon Holt, Bruce Hoff, Robin Curtis, David Wickingstad, Daniel Stoner, Faye Garneau, Elizabeth Dahl, Cyanna DiRaimo and Lynh Nguyen. Music by RJD2.