Mayor Koch
New York’s lost an icon
Who was in your face and brash.
He always spoke his mind and thus,
With many he did clash.
A three-term mayor with a bridge
That’s honored with his name,
His trademark “How’m I doin?”
Vaulted him to fame.
He never lived in Gracie Mansion,
Long a mayor’s goal,
Instead remaining in his village pad,
With rent control.
Koch rarely wore a hat, but once,
While in a winter storm,
His pate, uncharacteristically,
Was covered to be warm.
Reporters teased him and he laughed,
While pointing to his head,
“This schmatte*? Yeah, it was a gift;”
And that was just so Ed.
To many, me included,
He was New York quintessential.
Perhaps his strong appeal
Was rooted in the residential.
I think New Yorkers, all of us,
Will miss old Mayor Koch.
The city won’t be quite the same
Without him on his watch.
*Yiddish for a rag or cheap piece of material
Copyright © Ilene Bauer | Year Posted 2013
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