my poetry blog

at a website i frequent, someone had requested a picture of what it was like to live in nyc, and this was my response.

*****
if could paint
i’d paint a series of pictures
because the city cannot be captured
in a single image

first picture:
shiny skyscrapers
with dark alleys
and crowded sidewalks
of people holding faceless masks streaming past
all in a hurry
to nowhere in particular

second picture:
inside an office
everyone holds a mask in front of their face
all the masks look the same
some hold knives behind their backs
some face you so you cannot see what’s behind their backs

third picture:
person just coming home
the coat rack has coats on it
next to it
is another rack
with masks on it
each labelled
“office”
“friends”
“family”
“misc”
the miscellaneous mask
has no facial features
as seen in the first picture

fourth picture:
the street at night
the streets are lined with bmws, mercedes, and the like
young happy people are toasting at a lighted outdoor cafe
three buildings down, in the shadows,
a whino is slumped over
clutching a bottle in a brown paper bag

fifth picture:
a dark bedroom at night
a silhouette of a person
sitting on a bed
with his/her head in his/her hands
through the window
you can see
lighted buildings
and crowded streets