Poems by Nancy Duci Denofio.

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NEW YORK CITY STREET PEOPLE

So, tell me - where did you find
the cash to purchase a hummer?
Protecting Maddona, one for each -
And, who are you staring at?

Are they laughing at the bride
laying on the sidewalk, as a man
places a pillow behind her head...

Two wrecking balls
one painted with the
American flag - three
men - tired of destroying
what is left of life.

Look at the people
lingering at Union Square...
Generations sit together
eat prinkles - smoke -
play chess.
A man in yellow watches
as a child bites their nails,
knowing how to win -
eyes of a child stare
at the older generation -
to study his face.

This is where I live
near the Pepsi sign
near the Empire State Building
near crowds of people on
Broadway, I am me, I am them...
reading billboards, in a hurry.
Someone told me, "Once -
a cigarette burned - puffed
smoke above broadway..."

The man on the right,
he's talk'in to his wife -
some people listen, but
most don't give a damn.
The woman on the left
wearing a red coat - she's
in a hurry - going shopping
but split in half by the lady
in white - taking up space
dividing friends... on the
sidewalk.

And, it's the Upper West
Side of the City... where
he sleep in light, near a
goddess - thinking.

A wind blows east, it's Harlem
Lanterns of red balls float
east - in unison.
Tied to rough iron rails
and old dilapitated chairs,
and the hostess poses
while she waits for a party
to begin on Harlem Streets.