I used to think $500 days were
the price of children and loving near New York
It's a lot more now.
We were walking off a fat, slow, gross dinner
it was the first warm Saturday of the year
New York has been full of people walking dogs
soccer players on the way to North Meadows
St. Patrick's front doors were open
the votives lit, inviting us across 5th Avenue.
When we got to the steps, they were closed,
A little too late for their richness
Digital snaps of moments all around.
New cell phones, new residents, tourists all exploring new memories
After watching the lazy ovals of the Zamboni
on the ice, I had to move too-
Window shopping at The Rock is an exercise
in what other people want more than money.
Expensive white shirts still need ironing.
We got wonderfully hustled right by NBC,
a third harvest with skill.
I blame it on the anachronistic dinner and conversation.
Even the sidewalk grabs your high heels
After you are softened up by the deco promise
and enthusiasts of Rockefeller Center.
You realize that there are eight more blocks to the
nearest safe loo.
Times Square's onslaught is the city's
last best sensory fleece to a perfect spring day
Our suburban men wait for us
Broke like all the bums and poor people
waiting for the next elevator out of town,
still holding doors and shepherding their eggs to safety.
Genetic echoes of evolutionary success.
Playbills look out of place in this reality.
This morning, I remember the Spem in Alium at MOMA,
recreating performances thirty years ago.
There has to be something in Lucite at MOMA that
shows how to view half full/half empty in ARIAL/BOLD
Then, our sitting at Starbucks watching people,
chatting with a fellow Treo user,
As our son and his girlfriend came into the focus
of our odd lens, swimming uptown, relieved to be
back in familiar territory, all accounted for.
The dishes in the sink and the compromising sock
Remind me that this is as close to coming home that kids have.
My irritation is part of why they can't completely relax.
Maybe that's why Miles Davis is keeping me company this morning.
I have a warm bed, a husband to share adventures with.
Memories with such a price aren't high on his list either?
2 cats and weekend papers, crocus in bloom.
words to marshal on a screen. Ingredients for success
with different "on-the-mind" finishes:
New York is extra bold with high acidity.