A leaf rolled on my foot and asked me what time it was.
Picked it up and put it in the pond.
A man wearing a tinfoil hat screaming at a tree asked me if I knew how many Italians are born in New York every year.
I complemented him on his hat and he smiled.
Went to the deli for lunch, bought a turkey sub and a coke for a bum sleeping in the stairwell. He was an orphan and lived in a home until he was 18, then he was kicked out. He found work at the docks sometimes but to find a real job he needed a home address. I will never forget the looks at the passers by at a man wearing a 3 piece suit eating lunch on the sidewalk with a bum. I wonder how he is doing now…
Met a sweaty black street-preacher screaming and dancing to a crowd. He pointed to me and demanded an answer to his question. “Do you believe in God!”
Looking at his leather bound Bible, answered “Now!”
For some reason I felt like I was back on the sidewalk with that bum.
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Reviews
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Captures New York perfectly
I really like it a lot. I am very familiar with Manhattan, and love the way you portray it through the people. I have always kind of wanted to do what you wrote about and buy lunch for a homeless person. I think it would be really rewarding.
. Rewarded 4
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Thanks,
It does feel very good to help others. Not everyone can be mother Theresa but just being mindful how your actions affect other people. There is a great saying that has a long history that I won’t bother getting into since Googling it well explain it better than I could.
“Today, I will commit one random act of senseless kindness.” And it isn’t easy to live up that everyday! But it is a very good thing to ponder upon.
Thanks a lot for your comment, Zigfiend.
Bill
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Very cool...
To borrow a title from Billy Joel, it really does set that "New York State of Mind". It makes me want to go back and visit and really does establish that only-in-Manhattan feeling. It is still one of my favorites places to visit... if only there weren't so many New York sports fans. =) A very enjoyable piece. Thanks for sharing it. Now, I must go and see if my calendar and budget allow me to venture off to NYC anytime soon.
. Rewarded 8
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Thanks Mark,
Flights tend to be quite reasonable these days if you look around a bit. Glad you liked the poem and thanks for commenting.
Bill
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An enlightening piece to me Bill, cause well I don't know the life over there lol, but central patrk & all that etc...for parts of your descriptions is how I could picture it t be
I like the personal inclusion of not just telling bout this fellow or that person...but how you interacted with them...how your thoughts go back to them every once in a while.
Great imagery through your words and I just loved this read
Maybe one day I will get to visit
Cindy
. Rewarded 8
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Thanks Cindy!
Thanks for a very nice comment Cindy. Manhattan is a very interesting town, shows and museums, jazz clubs etc. and also very interesting and often eccentric people. Just walking around central park and/or battery park and soak up the atmosphere is a wonderful experience.
Thanks again Cindy
Bill
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< Thanks
I agree, one does feel like an ant on an anthill while walking around Manhattan. One does get the same feeling in other large cities but the variety of people makes Manhattan very unique.
Glad you enjoyed the poem, Caliente. And thanks a lot for a very nice comment.
Bill
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hey bill
i'm from nyc and your poem made me miss the hustle and bustle and craziness that goes on 24/7 in manhatten.
btw on visit back i noticed ceo's and doorman where always having little confrences, i guess doormans run the country.
dave. Rewarded 4
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Thanks Dave,
Never really noticed the ceo`s and the dorrman thing. There could be a conspiracy that we are unaware of.
Sounds like a new Oliver Stone movie.
Thanks for your comment, Dave. It is always a pleasure
Bill
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Really astute and poetic bits and pieces of crazy and wonderful NYC on a stroll. It all came together for me in that "For some reason...", and in the irrelevance of "time" in those first two lines, as though there needs to be no rhyme or thought to all this, this buying lunch for a down-and-outer and for a down-and-shouter preacher trying to get a compassionate reaction - not to mention the guy in the tin-foil hat, beautifully obsessed with Italians.
Observation and participation without unneeded analysis: that's the heart, and I mean Heart, of this poem, Bill. Not just a "lunch break" but a "break" into the hard soul of a city. Loved it all.
Lad. Rewarded 8
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Thanks Lad,
The guy in the tin-foil hat did give me a fright. I’m glad he smiled and went back to his tree instead of becoming violent.
Thanks a lot for very insightful comment, Lad. They are always a pleasure to read.
Bill
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This reminds me of Manhattan life
Just a sketch of a series of moments perhaps but very vivid - goes well with the illustration too. It's such a place of contrasts... well captured i think here. Nice flow from incident to incident, and you've captured the aggression and the poignancy both. Nice write. Best RA -
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Thanks,
Glad you enjoyed this one RA. It was an interesting experience as well.
Bill
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they're not invisible yet
heh, "now." good answer.
city life produces poeple in all sorts of odd predicaments. good to see your compassion for their plight.
maybe if you lived their a while, and weren't just a tourist, however, you might become jaded to the constant scene of poverty.
hopefully not, but just a thought...
Born in NY myself, i think that residents just try to ignore it.
~Pap
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Thanks Papyrus,
I truly hope that I will never get used to that and just try to ignote it! Thanks a lot for your comment!
Bill
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Oooh. Very..very 'beat'. Dylan would have sung
about it.
Content is a bit stretchy. But I love the reference to the bum.
By the way, I heard that in a research for 'happiness', the country which arrived at happiness more than any other in the world was Sweden. Asked why, according to some who were on the street, ..." because we admire what we have and aren't embarrassed about what we don't.".
Struck me.hehehe.
Very good in wording. It makes for a good prosaic essay than does a poem, but I think you could place a few lines to reflect it in the end.
Something like
"Albeit for lunch
I'd hardly know beyond
what mistakes could be made
'tween the street... and the pond." A ditty. Yes. Take it..lol.
Enjoyed!!!!
Warmly, CookieZeal/Dianne -
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Thanks
Glad you enjoyed his one. Im not sure if Sweden have happier people maybe more tolerant instead. I heard a good joke about "you know that you have been in Sweden too long when a stranger smiles at you and you automatically think; A: he is drunk. B: he is American. C: He is all the above."
So the grass in Sweden is nice but probably nicer looking from the other side.
Thanks for your comment Dianne, I really appreciate them
Bill
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Zigfiend
March 1, 2008