Best New York Poems
The Titanic set sail from Queens Town in Cork
on her maiden voyage to the city of New York.
Its sinking cost lives that they couldn't save
now those poor souls lie in a watery grave.
Written 27th July 2020
For four lines poetry contest
Sponsored by Constance La France.
Plunked down in chaos
from a gentler time,
blinkered from the traffic
he pulls the coach along.
Patient, in his harness bond
he tugs at hearts, with pathos-
as to his love of duty we respond.
Amidst the screech of sirens
and the blasting horns,
he stands and dreams
of meadows in a nosebag.
Such rhythmic clicking of
metal shoes on concrete,
full rolling of the carriage
wheels and he, confined,
down through the centuries
he thought he'd left behind.
the buildings gray stood grand and tall
the proudest prize of man's bright call
none dared to think that one might fall
thus glist'ning in the sun
the perfect morning sun
from cherished ground each tower rose
with strength and structure, grandiose
and steady through what nature blows
designer minds had wrought
their best, or so we thought
but some small men with missing parts
brought caliphates with fits and starts
their twisted aims from twisted hearts
would make examples, clear
the things we held, so dear
there wields no sharper blade or knife
than those which can't thus value life
oh deep that wound of careless strife
cut by an empty soul
an empty, barren soul
they flew that morn from foreign lands
these rotten souls, with hateful hands
with peopled planes at their commands
and hate their only cause
a beast with deadly claws
one at-a-time straight 'head they flew
'midst cloudless skies and vault of blue
they stabbed their evil arrows through
the hearts of all mankind
death's rattle left behind
those towers melted, crumpled ... fell
and brought a grief no one could quell
there on the news, straight out of hell
that horror lay unfurled
the weeping of a world
two decades gone, the wounds remain
those birthed from promise gone insane
lost catafalques, like tears through rain
that make no earthly sense
death smirks as God relents
please, teach our wee ones how it was
that heav'n did laud such twisted cause
and burned our bright and wondrous Oz
with fire's heinous flash
turned wonder into ash
how can it be that monsters, thus
now wear a mask that looks like us?
how can we learn, again, to trust?
still, from those ashes, then
the grandest dreams of men ...
through hope, can rise again.
Your Invitation
You wanna from New York-
talk skin-teeth stories
b|tch brick-falling buildings
knive bus choking fumes-
Proud-over cracked sidewalks
holy street-people
and cracked-dreams?
You wanna scar of alley cans and
rooftop bums who eat
lost pink Spaldin® balls?
You coo city-drums and garbage-glory-
Swag-shoulder every party-
Shoe your claim by kitchen-fame...
Then GO THERE!
New York will school your past and
take your part.
the fire an awful splendour in sapphire sky - then the towers were gone
jampacked city streets
that jangled and banged
in the raucous jarring day
shifted
from business to boogaloo
squeezing into moonlight
party lights
gin and lime-kissed
gimlet sequined dress
strutted
in studded six-inch heels
riveting flair
provoking jive and jazzy nights
to tame this lion of New York
The bed swallowed the evening
sucked-up in slumbered
sobering snooze
exhaling the drunkard’s stench
while the warmth of whiskey
and you next to me
laid dreamy still
popped up and propped up
restless and ragged
realizing the changing view
through the dirt-stained window
a pool of placid sunrise
igniting
colorless clustered towers
bulwarks and girders
scraping the sky
out of the easterly clouds
a creeping golden palette
arose
touching every crevice
defining each silhouette
your body stirs deliberate and slow
rainbow hued eyes
slenderly slitted catching
the new-found light
opening, tenderly revealing
the landscape of your smile
disclosing
a cozy contentment
waking with hello
as I fall into your dream
and a new day
“In this life there’s been heartache and pain”
How could I begin to find love again
Desperado walking a tightrope
I looked down and Daniel gave me hope
“The first time ever I saw your face”
Cold heart melted, longed for your embrace
Your compassion and character shone
No longer could I live all alone
“You took my love and you took it down”
Felt lighter than air with feet on the ground
A love without chains, a soul unbound
But walls closed in as I watched you drown
"In a New York minute everything can change"
Sometimes life takes twists that seem strange
A human chain was formed to find my man
Reaching up was Daniel's lifeless hand
Efforts to save, resuscitate
Proved futile to fight the hands of fate
Casket sent home, called his folks to explain
“Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane”
*Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”
*Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”
*Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”
*Don Henley's "In a New York Minute"
*Elton John’s “Daniel”
By Carolyn Devonshire for Tracie's "Sing a Song for Me" contest.
Dedicated to my fiancé Daniel Sammons who drowned while we were swimming in a
lake near Tallahassee, FL.
California
Sunny, warm
Swimming, boating, sunning
Sky, airplane, ocean, seashells
Skiing, sledding, snowball throwing
Cold, blistery
New York City
Who's who in the New York Zoo?
Said the clown with a funny face.
Many different cultures.
Within the human race.
Who's who in the New York Zoo?
A lion, a bear, an elephant, a giraffe.
Many different animals.
All which make us laugh.
Who's who in the New York Zoo?
A barber, a tailor, a dressmaker's store.
Many different occupations.
Make your way through the door.
A Catholic, A Christian, A Saint, and A Jew.
Many different religions.
While we feed Central Park's pigeons.
Who's who in the New York Zoo?
Said the man with a great big shoe.
Find your subway to paridise!
Zoo York Poetry By Kim Robin Edwards
Copyright 2010,2014..All rights reserved
Greenwich Village breathes,
She inhales exhausted tepid air,
And exhales blustery winds of possibility.
The lady blows away the veils of dishonesty.
Tangled streets strung together,
Knotted masses of pearls and poetry,
Entwining marbled heroes,rounded arches,
Crucifixes,and snakes penned on skin.
Artists, tourists, vagrants,and scholars,
Know the calling of its siren song well.
People living on the fringe of humanity,
And those from the upper crust, fuse.
The village is the one spot on earth
Where you can expose your primal desires,
And explore their depths unfettered.
She is a lovely harlot who lives to please .
Musicians and thinkers engage in chess,
Neighbors line the benches of it's central park.
Children run naked through its fountains.
The poor and idol rich roam, anonymously.
A reader of fortunes lays out his cards,
Lovers tango,who knows which one leads?
Perhaps all the seekers will find their way,
And the leaders will learn how to see?
Lady Greenwich Village,the canvas of New York life,
Her face painted with brilliant spattered oils.
Each of us can add our own divine colors,
Dripping and blending with individual uniqueness.
This city demands to be explored
It aches with the yearning of a living metropolis
The broad masses of the people
take sustenance from it
One cannot help but believe that
the city is a living organism
Does time tell everything?
Time is a manic relative of this city
If you know this you can survive in this urban homeland
You can thrive when
you know that
the swift pace of life here
keeps you on your toes
You can survive
when you realize
that the millions pounding the pavement
are searching for the peace you seek
The bright lights which shine in the shadows
are reflected in a million eyes
Every time you see a smile in this city
Treasure it
for the hectic pace of this asphalt homeland
allows for only brief moments of love
the rain that drowned the sidewalks
dampened down the night-time heat
creating steam through manholes
from the pipes beneath the street
and set against this backdrop
of a vibrant city beat
swarms of taxis stung the air
with horns stuck on repeat
as a writer sipping coffee
staring from a café seat
wrote words for her 'bestseller'
based on when two people cheat..
"..married strangers and a storm..
arranged a covert meet..
..ran towards each other
in a way such lovers greet..
they kissed beneath umbrellas
in a manner so discreet
then stepped inside a restaurant
to flirt, laugh, love and eat
her big blue eyes melted his heart
her smile was wide and sweet
and he was rich, tall, cool and calm
and swept her off her feet..."
...but before the lovers' story
made it to another sheet
the writer came to from her thoughts
with the chapter incomplete
her big blue eyes and sweet wide smile
felt somewhat obsolete
on the poor, tall, cool, calm waiter who
brought change with her receipt.
Elevated railroad tracks
Abandoned long ago
Have been transformed into a place
Where grass and flowers grow.
With benches made of wood or stone
And artwork interspersed,
The desolation and despair
Have all but been reversed.
If visiting the city
Is a plan that you have made
Then walk upon the High Line
And behold what’s there displayed.
It’s part and parcel of the town
But also quite unique
So stroll the High Line if
A New York feeling’s what you seek.
Bold and beautiful she soars high
her wings towards the open sky
September the 11th, a day of mar
to see the damage from afar
her eyes filled with tears
Her voice tremors and swears,
"THIS NATION I HOLD SO DEAR
THE WEIGHT ALONE I CANNOT BARE"!
Her wings stretched out to soar
she attempts to wrap the wage of war
in a sullen sense of grief
she weeps and soars to a place of peace
In a soft voice she sobs,
"THIS NATION I HOLD SO DEAR
THE WEIGHT ALONE I CANNOT BARE"!
From within the darkness a light appears
and takes away the feeling of fear
behold her eyes she sees a sign
of life alive and glory from high
men of color, armor and pride
upon their nest they work in stride
red, white, blue with the stars of night
emerges from the deepest of fright
With outstretched wings and a loud voice she cries,
"THIS NATION I HOLD SO DEAR
THE WEIGHT ALONE I DO NOT BARE"!
T Reams published in the news paper on 10/5/2001
The first poem I have ever written
Contest sponsored by: Nayda Negron 'Inspiration'
I’m sorry for my flaws
I appreciate everything you do for me
I wish I could always smile at passing children
I wish I felt better about myself
I wish I saw the light you provide for me
The light I voluntarily turn my back from
The light I’m suppose to drink
As if to keep hydrated.
I’m surrounded by quarters and unfinished books
I read because I’m searching for affirmation
Quarters for clothes to be kept clean.
I’m divulgent
I parade my flaws
I hide, trip, and reveal my flaws
I am in constant concern of my own being
And a stillness of thought for a mind to be kept clean.
The world is a messy place
Our mind the raking of leaves
The leaves of the world fall and we rake
The leaves of the world fall and we rake
We fall and awake and fall again.
Love is warm, harmless, and stamped
Inefficiently weak by the assemblies of faces
Swept up by the world’s business of cold linear time
Moving like a sad and brutal train.
I sit at the station
My fingers interlocked pressing against my face
Peering through the thicket of my spirit.
Hours later, maybe, I am looking up the hill
Pulling my elephant.
Children circle around my small progress
Skipping and laughing.
(They don’t care,
They just like elephants.)
Though, last night, I dreamt I rode a killer whale
And so here it dawns on the weakened spirit:
That I am the Whale Rider of the Phantom World
Wandering through 10th Avenue
My flaws in our wake
My fist pumped high in the air
In the name of a Life Authentic.
This all dreamy and wonderful
While in the world of machines and mass movement
The elephant keeps his slow, tugging gait behind me,
Ignorant of dreams.