You don’t deserve Manhattan.
Your attitude and prejudices
simply do not serve the city
and leave you
looking like a parasite.
You think there is nothing here
but instead there is everything.

I just saw a zombie
on the upper west side
walking, wearing a t-shirt reading
"Cleveland ’til I die."

A single stiletto shoe
rests upon the stoop
after last night’s
midnight rent party.

A determined hot office girl
scurrying with cardboard box
on workday midday.
Does she have Lunch Detail
or was she fired?

The Logan Elevators Building
on the Northern tip
is one story tall.

The billboard is blank.
Where I make the turn
to leave the borough,
high above my eyes
lies a great white hope
empty
and possibly
for rent.

All these wonders can be found
with open eyes
and open heart
and sometimes open wallet
in this city of dreams
or you choose
to ignore it all.
I see the choice that you’ve made;
can you?