If only

all good books
were so able
to slip snuggly
into back
pockets of
levi jeans

maybe then
reading would be
more fashionable

Untitled: Two Visions

A pregnant
woman rubs
her great
bulge with
a soft
mother's touch


A man stands
At Grand Street
station eating
a bowl of
oatmeal
The bowl is
decorated with
peonies and smell
of cinnamon

First Day of School Blues

First day of school blues
Putting on new socks
Lacing up new shoes
Traffic jams around
The block is chock
Full of joyous kids
Full of saddened parents
Full of joyous parents
Full of saddened kids
Hip High Schoolers
curse the day
with slim cigarettes
Complaints are fashionable
in brand name jeans To some, Monday means
another Monday/Funday
Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bound
B Train to Midtown
where the sounds
of those old kids buzz in offices
and through streets
cheap delis and
between the sheets
Don't play dumb
with your smartphone
interconnectedness
has us in a tangle
What will it be
like on Tuesday?

Spirits

9-13
The bourbon babes
and moonshine musketeers
together howl
in the cool
of night.

Below 42nd Street

Earth to Beanz-
Earth to Beanz-
The white scrawled
intimation reads.
Subterranean shadow
scholarship signal
malfunction.

The pipe bender's
pipe bender lays
at rest unbending.

Sandwich Swag

A pretty girl
stepped on the train
and met your eyes
She stole a breath
and a heart beat
Nothing's left but
love and sandwiches
Missed your stop
brushing crumbs
Time well spent

Chime In

Bikers and walkers dodge
weaving between traffic
Those whispering cabbies
Millions of faces and smiles
murmurs and shouts and horns
Steel wheels of the subway roar
Jackhammers pounding floors
Trucks, balloons and parades
Church bells ring out the hour
Children play a universal play
Eat, drink and be merry
Back of the bus ponderer
Windows, signs and awnings
One block can be a poem
Friends, family and lovers
come and go and tomorrow
on a park bench in Brooklyn
a man reads his sheets
Resting a tired old head
on today's headlines
Somewhere near here
a jazz band swings old tunes
The people dance great dances
A tenor sax man wails
He gives and gives and they get
throw back stingy brim hat
and houndstooth suit
filling the room with color
painting without a brush

Linger On

Persistence is
extended existence
and resistance
All these Altoids
We must be brave
Sunlight cascades
Across glass and stone
facades and flags
And stonewashed
under butt
short shorts
In September
They say
War drums
are beating
Coltrane accompanied
by the gurgle
of drip coffee
The song of
the last cicadas
can be heard
echoed in a few
distant trees
children playing
in the shade below
Grandparents
make the proudest
babysitters

Wash Away

Wash away your sins
In the back of a bar
Men's room sink
Called Sharlene's
Off the avenue
A woman stands
With a gold name tag
Reading 'Embellishment'
A couple speaks
Of arugula and green beans
Every mirror reflects
Something honest
And something different
It's your father's birthday
Four fans spin
In opposing unison