New York, New York

Oh, this gives me chills. All of the landmarks--people and places--the loss and longing.

oh, geez, jane, thanks for saying that--i'm just feeling it tonight, i guess, that old stab in the same place.

I was thinking about line-length in prose some time back. This has got me thinking about it again. The idea here is simple. But it seems effective.

eamon, yes--simple and can be effective. i was reading o'hara and it set me dreaming of it, to give it a try.

do it, sure.

eamon, yes--simple and can be effective. i was reading o'hara and it set me dreaming of it, to give it a try.

do it, sure.

I'm going to NY this summer. I want to do all of this. I want to go to Trinity Church, see DeNiro sigh (or at least know about it), visit the hole (that's a tunnel, right?), be a virgin again and fall in love with another Virginia from Virginia (the first Virginia from Virginia and I went on a few dates, but it didn't work out), hit the automat, watch Joe Camel in action, experience NYC traffic, join in a moment of silence, not look like a tourist and most importantly I want to feel like a New Yorker. Actually I think I do right now. This one keeps it real, Gary. Awesome.

I just returned from NY. I don't think it's a place you ever really leave. This captured that feeling perfectly.

The physical shape of the poem reminds me of the shape of Manhattan on a map.

nostalgia for the tangible which is New York and the irretrievable which is...well, you know, obviously. Lovely, Gary.

hey jason. and thanks to you & laurita for reading.

ann: is there anything you miss? yes, a concrete poem. btw: i am not going to denver for awp, alas--but am headed april 5 for, well--ny. home to fam, then out to the hamptons to write and think and breathe.

david: i thank you.

and i'm not even from NYC but i had my moments pre and post virginity there, too. not sure it was real in hindsight but i suppose that is one of the things about the big apple that one can never be sure. not with all those movies. you capture that so well - enjoyed this!

Love the shape and form of this that makes the reading flow so well. Great images and story too!

frank o'hara is the best. go sox you yankee bullies. oh hey ps i'm in new york as we speak, ha

"Twice a day traffic comes to a complete halt in honor of Robert Moses on the LIE." Great line! and captures different parts of new york beautifully and yes the big hole is still there and gives me the shivers each time i pass.

an anthem shaped to fit into the city's skyline: love it. the juxtapositions of images (God's finger to Bartiromo) uniquely yours and full of yearning. The line about Catherine Deneuve just soars. Horn & Hardart may never return, but won't you come home to us, Gary?

Thanks, all--

Sara--thanks for the kind words--just returning from a funeral and comrting to see friends, reading.

I'll be home April 5-15 let's grab a drink when I am in town, ok?

We can invite Nic to join us. Give
her a Yankee cap, maybe a new T shirt.

sara: god giving the finger to maria & the day traders on wall street?

a whole new theology of resistance.

I don’t know NYC that well, but I still found this compelling in both form and writing. Nicely done, Gary. This gets a fave.

thanks christian

Outstanding first line. Wonderful ride all the way through, and, indeed, do not forget the tip.

it sure brings back a memory of a 12 year old, who begged for a dime, walked miles to a subway, asked directions to the zoo, saw it, and ran back home. Thanks for the memories.

hey robb, thanks for reading & commenting--

estelle: good memories.

Gary,
Wonderful - I SEE this when I read it:

I miss

the Horn and Hardart

automat, lit like an Edward
Hopper painting & the
Camel smoke curling from

the billboard in Time's

Square.

as if yesterday.

Excellant, thanks

Gary,
Wonderful - I SEE this when I read it:

I miss

the Horn and Hardart

automat, lit like an Edward
Hopper painting & the
Camel smoke curling from

the billboard in Time's

Square.

as if yesterday.

Excellant, thanks

thank you, walter--

I couldn't know less about New York, being a holler monkey and all, but I dig this poem because of it New Yorkness. Somehow I know at least this much of the city.

hey sheldon, --good to hear from you. and thanks for reading, your time, and etc.

Love this! It's amazing how you can love a city so much, feel such a part of it, that you just don't feel quite right anywhere else.

thanks, kim

as a nyr in exile all i see is loss, loss, loss, everywhere--

i feel most alive in nyc--will be back in town in seven days, count 'em.

Gary, as you know (from what i've written in new york group, the title of this poem attracted me. I think this is a fine poem. Do you still live in New York? (you sound as nostalgic as me) What is so wonderful about this poem, aside for the inclusion of so much of 'the city" and the excellent way it is written is the structure of the poem: a high rise building. great work, Gary! a fave.

hi bobbi

pleased that you like tis poem, i am--

i am a nyer living in exile in the heart of the heart of the country.

but will be in town next week, for ten days or so.

periodic episodes of sanity.

Wizard's

bridges festooned

with garlands for

those who must live

forever.

Oh wow. I also miss the city so much. I get you & I love this.