New York Poems

Those "Tears in Heaven"* falling for
Eric's son on the fifty-third floor.

*Eric Clapton's beautiful tribute to his four-year-old son Conor,
 who fell to his death from the fifty-third floor of a New York apartment in March 1991.

Ref. Wikipedia....Read More

We met some friends from out of town
Who had 3 hours to spare
So Hudson Yards was the New York
We thought we’d like to share.

The subway ride and escalator
(Very long and deep)
Were, from their usual routines,
A rather giant leap.

We climbed the...Read More

Eight million people living here
Yet on my morning walk,
Deserted streets provided
Not a thing at which to gawk.

Behind each window there were souls
In various routines – 
Asleep or in the shower
Or engaged in breakfast scenes.

I marveled at the emptiness
In such a...Read More

THREE PLUS ONE EQUALS FUN

        Once upon a time, no fairytale,
      there lived three of us kids,
    washing dishes, rolling dice,
  kissing mom and...Read More

Moby Dick, a novel by Herman Melville, published in London in October 1851 as The Whale and a month later in New York City as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. It is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Moby Dick is generally regarded...Read More

Its siren is annoying;
Its flashing light disturbs.
Its speed propels pedestrians
To back up to the curbs.

It zigs and zags on city streets
Ignoring lights turned red,
Determined to respond, no matter
What might lie ahead.

A heart attack or vertigo,
An accident or fall;
A suicide or...Read More

In the 30’s, right on Broadway,
For a temporary stay,
Are a dozen lit-up seesaws
Meant for passers-by to play.

Once a staple of each playground,
Now a seesaw is so rare 
Many people never saw one
‘Til they spied them waiting there.

But they just can’t...Read More

hot, crowded platform
repulsive subway station
rush of rank damp air 
screeching heralds arrival
beast covered in urban art...Read More

Here’s advice that we’ve received
In case we have a sighting
Of wild coyotes in the park;
The fear has been igniting.

Just raise your arms and stand up tall,
Pretending to be bigger,
For apprehension such behavior
In these beasts may trigger.

Then hopefully they’ll trot away
But...Read More

“...Of course she said nothing of this to me,
tried to act as if things were just like before,
yet I noticed the time between meetings
seemed to just be growing more and more.

“One morn I went to her house unexpected,
and only her...Read More

To some, there is a “good side”
When you’re posing for a pic
And people show their “good sides”
Sometimes trying to be slick.

But if somewhere in Manhattan
Is the place from whence you hark
Then you know the “good side” means one thing –
The...Read More

I was a picked on, 
bullied, browbeaten, buffaloed boy
from Buffalo New York.
I grew up on Buffalo’s lower east side,
the ghetto by another name.
The Frederick Douglass towers.
Formerly the Talbert Mall
better known as the Jefferson projects.
The home turf to a gang
called the...Read More

The balancing giraffes were standing high end to end.
Each one a relative or a terrifically great friend.
I would not have truly believed it myself of course
For I have never seen it in elephants or horse.

But I was in an airplane...Read More

searing summer sun
tarpaper rooftop beaches
city sunbathing...Read More

Hey babe, we're gonna go far.
All 'cause I am tried of working
for the man's with smelly Cuban
Imported cigars.  He must honestly
spend a small fortune on them.

We've been living much too long
on the far side of town.  Living
on the...Read More

when you wake up in the wee hours of the morning
	or, perhaps, if you were to wake in the wee hours of the morning
and pad with bare feet past your 
humidity-warped Georgian porch
to collect the morning’s paper 
	if, perhaps, they...Read More

My dad was a furrier man, a hunter, a skinner.
He sometimes was traveling, not home for dinner.
He went to New York
Ate steak with a fork
When he came home with the money, a winner.

...Read More

she double
parked in
new york
city running
with a hundred
dollars into a
music store
told the man
behind the
counter what
electric guitar
and amp can
i get with this
showing him
her money and
he showed her
the goods that
now i'm glad
i have after
she gave me
what she
got...Read More

Born in 2000 he comes from a long line of athletes. His maternal  great great great grandfather was a short stop in the negro leagues. His Paternal great great grand father was a tailback in the Canadian football league....Read More

Tyrants Walk 

What shall I feed my children? 
The garden is empty, 
the plants have been pulled up. 
The dog, we ate already. 
There are no rats in the traps. 
Instead, they live in the palace, 
where the fence is...Read More

WOW! What a jam packed week ahead..
I've no time to rest or sleep.
I'm working 8 hours each day
For the bills I must pay..
And multiple adventures to seek.

I've lost 20 pounds and tried on new dresses..
Shopped for shoes at designer label...Read More

The sirens of Manhattan
Make a sound we always hear,
Alerting all pedestrians
And traffic to stay clear.

It’s background noise that city folk
Don’t pay attention to,
The urban version of a field
Of cows all saying, “Moo.”

It doesn’t matter if the sound’s
From ambulance or police
Or...Read More

code name for hustler
sordid, downbeat, serious—
Joe Buck and Rico
...Read More

Katie Osprey looked up from the ground 
And she knew this was no way to end a night on the town 
“Why did you dump me onto the Garden floor” 
Which made her four-legged love come back from the in-gate...Read More

Utterances
Grunts
Tech references aligned with the toetapping movements
Ya
Ya
Ya
Who is the secret gabber she pines to hear more from
Who crinkles the toes
Pasty white except for the summer's flush of pink and wear
A city oblivious
And she as well
Making this hush cellular moment special...Read More