Voice of New York

 ** Assignment: Catch a (the) Voice of New York**

1.  

Gershwin players fiddle,

Articulated bus motors by,

I can hear the city laugh,

I have heard the city cry.                   

RM, Jan. 2002. (Idea from hearing people laughing on East 79th Street in NYC while I was listening to an old song on the radio, Jan. 2002.)  (I had heard the city cry on Sep. 11, 2001).  RM, 2-5-2022. 

 

2. 

“Chair”

“A woman carries a chair to points west of my location.

At one thirty-six A.M. perhaps thievery's her vocation.  

Why carry a chair like that, so rigidly wooden and wicker?

A certain posture assured, obtained by muscles of liquor.

Perhaps discarded by someone; you know what is said about one person's trash.

Redeemable right down the street, the currency is comfort or cash.

From an outdoor film perhaps, or a whiffle ball strike zone.

or a musty room or dark garage, determination takes it home.

Perhaps to complete an old set, ruined by ravaging time. 

A ten-fingered overnight bargain by not having to spend a dime.

Toting her burden on which to rest, this odd little nighttime affair;

determined she travels, walking west, a woman carries a chair.”            

-RM, August 2004, after witnessing the above event on East 79th St. in NYC.  RM, 2-5-2022.