11.11.13. Midtown Canyons

New York midtown canyons
I am moving through the bureaucratic Godzillas
It’s as exciting as hell

I can relate to Manhattan as an island now
not an abstract idea of an island but as
Arran, Lewis, Ailsa Craig

The surrounding water keeps the energy moving
Around what would otherwise be condensed stasis
of stone, steel and concrete

The colour of the cardinal seen through the back window of the West Village apartment
Explodes
and fills the back yard and the front room

All the varying horizon points from Europe
(appear to) converge at New York
Imagined straight lines hovering above a real ocean

Commerce crammed into and between the blocks and skyscrapers
feels like someone is sitting on my chest
(in a packed subway train)
My restless twitches are me struggling to make room under the weight
A tannoy speaker plays a refrain on repeat:
“Everything must go. Down 10%, 20%, 30% …”