A March Day in NYC, 2020
Poem
WATCH & LISTEN
Poem Inspiration taken from “I Can’t See New York” by Tori Amos,
from Scarlet’s Walk (LYRICS: Tori Amos)
VIDEO artwork:from Elyse777
Seeing what Scarlet saw
open eyes, open jaw,
My core is fluttering fast
in white covered turbulence.
Winding, I wince and wince,
free-falling through the big vast.
Down from the cloudy side,
fogginess clear and wide,
flushed in virulent air.
Seeping within the white,
NYC neon lights
beaming sans any fanfare.
In my periphery,
Liberty Verdigris
holding the torch on her isle.
Swerving by tower greys,
I feel a strange malaise
sweeping in all the while.
all the while…
all the while…
all the while…
On my way onto ground,
pigeons swoop and surround,
making Manhattan their own.
And oh how the singing birds,
previously not as heard,
resonate sharply in tone.
Awash in the foggy daze,
I stagger through the maze,
lingering sidewalk to lane.
Gone are the walking crowds.
Gone is the Yawker loud.
The sea of humanity’s drained.
Broadway lights now dimmed out.
Wall Street herd all thinned out.
Union and Times are a void.
I make my way underground,
hardly a soul around.
Throng of the subway’s devoid…
of the din,
of the roar,
of the whir…
Back on the streets I go,
stumbling to and fro,
dizzying myself recklessly,
Cyclists up and down
pass me up round and round,
skidding the path carelessly.
The city that never sleeps
floors me and makes me weep.
It’s coming apart at the seams.
It’s gotta be a dream.
Wake me up from this dream!
This all can’t be what it seems.
Commentary:
“A March Day…” plays in my mind as lyrics to a haunting song, in a style that Tori Amos or similar artist would perform (Calling out for a musician out here who could work out the music!) I dare not put my singing voice out here. I should hum this and turn it into a musical piece with help from AI technology (Yes, there’s an app for that!)
I can’t recommended enough listening to “I Can’t See New York”. Such a lyrical enigma and brilliant musical achievement in composition. Indeed, it would take a seperate post to fully explore and show my appreciation for this track, off Tori’s 2002 storyteller release, Scarlet Walk.
