York Poems

Taking Stock

Been to the London Stock Exchange
opened in 1571 by Elizabeth the Queen
and what's more saw the New York Big Board
the world's largest stock market ever seen
but when I took a trip to Paris
had no clue as to what to do
altho' I was educated in French
(parlez-vous?)
I believe brokers did so to discommode
as when yelling buying or

Up on the Top

Sat on the ferryboat, up on the top,
Soaking the sun and the breeze.
Seeing the city a different way,
Like a tourist, there’s so much to please.

Cool buildings to spot and New Yorkers about,
On foot or on bikes or on skates,
With gardens and trees, dogs on leashes, as well
As the seagulls aloft with their mates.

The palpable buzz

NYC Fantasy

This envisioning is so cliché
It is making my cheeks so rosé:
A lightly tanned brunette couple
Walking through alleys so unsupple...

Above their handholding and umbrellas,
In the pouring rain, walking among fellas.
Then suddenly he stops and turns to her,
Drops his umbrella and kisses ever deeper.

But it's just all a New York City fantasy,
A reality that may or may

Vocalize New York City Park

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

Rip and Wolf Van Winkle

Children, can you hear the thunder and the gale?
It's time to tell that old and fateful tale.
Nobody knows it better than I know,
the dog named Wolf who died so long ago.

It began with an Autumnal hunting trip
in the Kaatskills with my friend and master, Rip.
I said, "Rip, let's go catch us some squirrel", 
and the

Between the Rivers

The Hudson River stretches wide
From Jersey to the far west side.
The east, though, is where I reside
So I don’t see it much.

It’s quite majestic, driving past
And on the highway, going fast,
I try to conjure up the past
When locals spoke in Dutch.

‘Cross town, another river flows,
Much narrower and, I suppose,
Some Germans came because that shows 
In

Stone or Air

Old friend, so comfortable in your chair
     (steadfast and anchored, safe in your harbor,
     hear me before deciding I am daft. 
     I fear I am no longer of this earth, 
     having become unmoored in time and space.

The Night New York Slept

It was one solemn, long night,
Tenebrous with the astuteness of perfidy,
And multiple hours before the break of an
Impatient dawn.
Lampposts froze through the pergola of winter.
Limp from exposure to unprintable tales of orgies,
And their lights, hidden by icicles of pelted snow,
They fell face-down on the wayward paths of Central Park.
Manhattan was hung on the tattered frescoes

Oddballs in New York

Oddballs in New York

The strange people who want to live
until they are 200 years old and, if possible, forever. 
Needless to say, these people are also rich
I saw the leader of the odd people, who tells us
He goes to bed at eight and rises at five
shift workers to have a similar routine, not they
wish to be

Finally

I feel like finally saying 
And yet I did not ask for it 
I even gave it up 
To this first love 
To this unforgettable love 
Finally

New York, New York

On June 25, 2025, a 33-year-old far-left democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim, won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Mr. Mamdani is a “globalize the intifada” and “tax the rich” guy, known for his “defund the police”, pro-Gaza, pro-BDS and antisemitic views. He also called for the prison system to be dismantled

Where

Let the Streets Flow with Blood

     Advocate of rent control and $30 minimum wage
     Free public transportation! Zohran Mamdani’s a media-appointed Sage

         For all illegal immigrants, full privileges and rights
         Defund the police, let NYC’s streets

Lunch on Third Avenue

Had lunch with a friend
And we sat in the shade
In a sidewalk arrangement
The restaurant made.

I live on the east side
And she on the west.
We meet to catch up 
At each other’s request.

The corner was busy
And traffic zipped by.
With sirens and buses,
I’m not gonna lie,

The noisiness level
Was blaring and loud,
Plus bulldozers rolled
As pedestrians cowed.

Construction just added
More

My New York Giraffe

A giraffe went out to buy a car.
He didn't like nothin' that he saw'r.
Maybe, he'd be more comfortable
driving a convertible.

New York City Jungle

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

• Short York Poems
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