It was just when I was first leaving New York
that I first discovered Avenue A.
The summer before college
I was spending all hours I could
biking around the city
exploring
learning about the place
I was about to abandon.
I had ridden to the neighborhood
of the high school I had recently left
and then I went east
and I had found something
completely different.

Avenue A had a bohemian character
full of small shops and hoboes
and overgrowth.
I’d been on St. Marks’ Place
only to discover it stopping short
into a park
that seemed to go on.
It all seemed magical.
It all seemed scary.
It all seemed… new.

I didn’t know what I’d found
and swore to come back soon
but I don’t think I returned
until I followed Brenda
and discovered AntiFolk
six years later.

Of course, I’d already been visiting Marcos
my junior high school friend
on Avenue C years before
so I guess my Loisaida memories
were even less significant than I’d thought.