Who would have thought it would come to this
The Big Apple, home of Wall Street
The Yankees, Broadway and Central Park
Would one day elect a Marxist Muslim mayor?!
Groucho must be rolling in his grave
As Harpo, well, plays his harp in pain.
I’ve been to The City, seen the World’s Fair
Ridden the subway, wandered all over there,
But now it’s somehow different
A new world in a new world order
It’s like the UN took over the town
Opened all its doorways to tear it all down.
Mayor Mamdani, may not last for long
May not even be legit if all votes were known,
But he will certainly be remembered
For polarizing his home,
And driving small minority owned businesses
Into the ground.
What comes next we want to know?
Maybe a Trump or something
Less conventional, more traditional,
Like an apple pie baking baseball playing
Yankee doodle dandy whistling mom.
Whatever it is I’m rootin’ for you NYC
Rootin’ and cheerin' for your comeback run.
(9/7/26)
I foresee the day
but it would be a pity
if all the residents ran away
and were to flee New York city
like rats leaving a sinking ship
with streets high garbage-piled
overcrowding crime and corruption
it's no place to raise a child
nor recommendation as gateway
so they say to the Land of the Free
where you have the opportunity to be
anything or anyone you want to be
Eyes didn't organize
The tent drop
Code violation
Ten days an hour, so what week
Use on the monthly?
We not gonna speak
Lost voices in bravado money, can't reach
Such is that meaning why?
Answer four times a second
Birth control that
Building code violation
All over California
Hop
Y'all crawled hip?
Pay my rent
Aisha was fierce and sensuous
and belonged on Broadway
she knew what she wanted
and was bound to get her way
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
another weekday
she awakens
to the sunrise aroma of
preset coffee brewing
her eyes still closed
she thinks about her day
and slowly starts to form
thoughts in her head
so much to do
so little time
a jolt of java
revs up the engine
give her a minute
she'll come to life
another sip
and there it is
it's all systems go!
AP: 1st place 2025
Concrete Jungle Dreams
midst the towering giants,
The silver and glass behemoths,
I walk, a speck of dust
In the grand scheme of life.
Their shadows cast upon me,
As I tread the well-worn paths,
Stepping over the cracks in the pavement,
My breath misting in the frigid air.
The City that never sleeps,
Her beating heart in sync with mine,
Each pulse a reminder of the dreams,
The aspirations that lie within.
A cacophony of sounds and sights,
The blaring horns, the flashing lights,
A tapestry of chaos and order,
Woven together in perfect harmony.
I pause for a moment, a brief respite,
Inhaling the essence of the concrete jungle,
And as I exhale, I see,
The dreams and possibilities are woven into the very fabric of New York.
Rotting eggs, fish, moldy pasta, and meat
Mixed with the odor of damp rodent fur.
The garbage in bags is lining the street.
New York is a city beyond compare.
The food that's thrown feeds a population,
Not for people, but for rats everywhere.
Well-fed and moving are these three million
Who run down sidewalks without any care.
The mayor has found a good solution-
Locked trash cans that keep the rodents from play.
When hunger pangs start in great profusion,
I want to make sure I am far away.
I grew tired of those Montana mountains
was ready to give up that life for good
So I packed up my kit and kaboodle
and headed off to a new neighborhood
They loaded me onto this cattle car
went flying faster’n poop through a goose.
Then we skidded down in New York City
the place that is famous for their big fruit
That place was supposed to be all fast paced
I could hardly wait to see all the sights
But after three hours in the taxi
hadn’t found the place I was staying the night
As I was riding in that yellow car
the man said unemployment was real high
I was pretty sure he was joshen’ me
there‘s ‘help wanted’ at each place we went by
If there’s one thing I learned about that trip
if I should again get the itch to roam
I’ll just tuck my money into my mattress
cause it’s best to just keep my butt at home
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
"Stranger in Egoli"
Not right to feel lost in a city of vices, they judge you therefore you are a victim.
She creams for her purse ,
He screams for his jacket,
Bloody panties on the sidewalk,
Last month the hood rats engulfed him!
I cannot understand what they say though we speak the same language!
My eyes do not sparkle like theirs.
l am a dog in a den....
Someones Grandma on a bench
I passed her everyday
Sharing the crumbs she begged for
With every passing stray
Once I heard her mumble
'Someone killed my Kitty'
I don't want to get lost in
New York City
All of the things she used to love
Were written on her face
Laughter and song were everything
Another time and place
A place where in her dreams
She still was pretty
I don't want to get lost in
New York City
Grandma wasn't on her bench
When I passed by today
Her shopping cart of dreams was there
But she had slipped away
And I cried because I knew
She found her kitty
I don't want to get lost in
New York City
searing summer sun
tarpaper rooftop beaches
city sunbathing
Cool breezes
surround the city
As they walk together
in the autumn air
Streetlamps cast an eerie
glow onto the pavement
as autos rush by
as shadows lengthen
in the asphalt homeland
Autumn evening in
New York City
Apartment buildings filled
with city dwellers
challenge the sky
The couple walk a dark street
Together they move like panthers
in the night
They hold each others hand
And move into
whatever fate has in
store for them
On this cool autumn evening
Sun beats down
But the air is fairly cool in NYC
People put our city down
But it is actually the epicenter of the world
I could use more cash
I no longet smoke "hash"
But I am ready for joy
And hopefully I wil find it in New York City
my home!!!
I met the rudest librarian.
"I'd like a library card, "I said to him.
"You have to prove, "he said annoyed, "that you're a New York City resident."
I said, "No problem,"
then I stabbed him.
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