Poetry is so often related to place. Events and memories fuse together and particular places become locked in our hearts. We all have places that evoke emotional responses. They present as recurring thoughts. We find ourselves back in that place and thoughts spill out. The three poems I am sharing (below) are part of a much larger group of poems I wrote during my six years living and working in New York as an education consultant.
Subway Scenes
Riding the subway
I have a special wish
That everybody had more room
Then we wouldn’t HAVETOSQUISH
Riding on the subway
Like sardines in a can
I’m pleased the air conditioning works
As I didn’t bring a fan
Riding on the subway
Travellers one and all
We ride the darkened underground
And heed the station’s call
Riding on the subway
We rattle, roll and shake
We screech into each station
Aboard our mechanical snake
© Alan j Wright
Chicken Bones And A Dead Umbrella
Walking on Union Street
On a wet, wild, windswept day
The sidewalk-
Shiny and slippery.
The last of the golden fall leaves
Are plastered to the sidewalk
A squelchy carpet
For me to trudge over
In my sturdy leather boots.
Amid the leaves I see chicken bones
And a dead umbrella.
© Alan j Wright
The Cats of Brooklyn
In the inky, evening gloom
Long before the morning looms
From the dimmest shadows growling
The cats of Brooklyn come a howling
With hiss and spit
Yowl and screech
Behind the Brownstones in my street
They caterwaul
They whine
They wail
All through the night their crying rails
Scrawny cat, pathetic cry
Screams into the darkened sky
Moaning, scowling, backyard prowling
The cats of Brooklyn come a howling
© Alan j Wright
*These poems were originally published in 'Searching For Hen's Teeth- Poetry from the Search Zone,' Alan j Wright 2014.
It's Poetry Friday and this week our kindly host is Karen Edmisten. Karen presents a Billy Collins poem, 'Cheerios' and also manages to nudge readers with a most intriguing point to ponder. By visiting Karen's post you will also get the opportunity to visit a swag of other members of the poetic community...
Those yowling cats have a jaunty rhythm to their swagger, Alan. These are wonderful snapshots of your time - each one unique.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kat. Jaunty, I like. And you're right, the New York experience was a unique time in my life.
DeleteEnjoyed these, Alan. NYC is one of my favorite cities. Love all the sensory details and vivid imagery in the poems that created such immediacy.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jama. So glad you enjoyed these poems inspired by place.
DeleteI used to go to NYC regularly as it's only five hours away, plus my son lived there. But things have changed, he moved and the pandemic. I enjoyed the poems about so much including the leaves on the sidewalks, the screeching cats and the photos. Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteJanice, when circumstances change and we no longer have a clear reason or purpose for visiting a place, we soon realize something has been lost. I sometimes feel as you do, a sense of loss regarding New York. However, with Covid, I feel like that about so many wonderful places I miss being able to visit.
DeleteI enjoyed every poem, Alan, love the moments you captured, each one both mournful & maybe a nod to your time there as the kaleidoscope that NYC is? I took my students there one year & they were in awe of the subway! Thanks for the share.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed my little dose of nostalgia Linda. Living in New York was a writer's dream. Almost daily travel on the NYC subway provided a feast of experiences.
DeleteThe poems made me want to vist NYC again. I loved the line in the subway poem: "Then we wouldn’t HAVETOSQUISH."
ReplyDeleteChicken Bones and A Dead Umbrella reminds me of walking in Portlnad during a rainy fall.
It's amazing how places will stay with us long after we visit.
Glad you enjoyed the subway poem Jone. A touch of humour found its way into my words. The chicken bones poem owes its origins to chance observation on the street where I was living in Brooklyn when we first arrived in the US. Place markers for poetry are to be cherished. I'm glad they linger.
DeleteWonderful snapshots of this place, Alan. There's no way to really capture NYC in one poem...so all of them together really work with the different tones and moods. That mechanical snake, those chicken bones...the hissing and spitting cats. They are all NYC. I feel like I've been on a little journey.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your generous remarks Linda and I agree with regarding New York and it's compelling attraction. Most difficult to capture its essence in a single piece of poetry. I glad you enjoyed the journey.
DeleteI love your thoughts on the power of place to evoke an emotional response and poetry. I've been able to visit NYC a few times, and each time I've been moved to write quite a few poems. I'm so glad you shared yours here. I especially like those cats and all that great feline word choice.
ReplyDeleteMolly, like you I was constantly inspired to write while living in New York. New York minutes indeed...
DeleteGlad you enjoyed my experiences with those Brooklyn cats.
I love those yowling cats. All of your poems remind me of New York--especially the subway one. I would love to visit again.
ReplyDeleteThe cats are a hit Kay. I'm glad my poems evoke a vision of New York. It's good to have a goal that propels you forward as in, New York I shall return one day in the not too distant future...
DeleteThank you for sharing these Alan and the glimpse of New York, a place I've never been and now seems very far away. I have your book, and have enjoyed dip[ping in and out of it quite a few times. Your post reminds me to revisit it.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Sally. Glad my glimpse was appreciated. New York does seem further away at present, but hopefully it will come a little closer before too long. Glad my book has made a connection with you.
DeleteWhat a powerful sense of place you've created with each of these, Alan. I haven't been to New York for many years but you conjured it vividly. Someday I'll travel again .... :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words Karen. Glad you had a sense of connection with my three little poems. Someday we will all travel again. For now the horizon is a lot closer. Fingers crossed for our collective travel future.
DeleteThese are great! My favorite is the subway.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth. Most kind. Glad you enjoyed the subway ride.
Delete