New Year’s Up and Down

TOPSIDE

Thousands vacate the Times Square footprint,

Ruch off to their favorite bar,

Their much-anticipated party,

Their moment of raucous silence,

When frivolous thrills promise

Left-over take-home portions of

Infatuation’s roar of hope.

Across the sidewalks and pedestrian paths

They rush to the next fix,

Panic laying in wait

Should the remaining hours of a celebratory reverberation

Prove a disappointing aftermath,

Knowing one’s hangover becomes

The evening’s determined moment of reality.

UNDERSIDE

A non-reveler on a Far-Rockaway subway platform

Peers into a deep tunnel’s darkness,
Dirt and ammonia wafting their
Ancient odors of industry
Along tracks rumbling,
Tunnel wind rushing forward,
Raising anticipation,
Quivering the space in front of him,
Breakneck thunder coming to a stop
Inches from his face.

Stepping inside an empty car,

The submarine-like air

Tastes of hunger unabated,
Illumined metal radiates fluorescent green
Embellishing his ride through darkness
To somewhere… anywhere.

Such is his subway of grace,
Enfolding him with intimate anonymity
As his identity remains unknown.

Dawn approaches,

Taking the train into Manhattan

And honesty’s raucous silence atop the island of rock.

How arresting as everyday life returns,

Bringing with it reality and the simple pleasure

Of a bagel and cream cheese,

A sip of coffee,

A smile for its own sake,

The ah-ha of another day

Living atop and below the lessons to learn,

Wisdom to acquire,

And hopefully…

The harmonious silence of inner peace.