"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand."
- Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)
The Citywe whisper and murmur
and whisper and murmur
and hum
the hum of enticing-
drawing the insects
to our light
the hum of the lights
and the jostle
and shove of the people
where does the sky fit
into this dense picture?
where is the sun?
no sunlight penetrates
our murky depths
but we have our own lights
the hum of enticing-
drawing the insects
to our light
5.
people crammed
like sardines in a tin
(so the saying goes)
I like it here.
I'm important
(my suit told me so)
forget the names
I was called
(call me Doctor now)
forget the tears
I shed
(people like me here)
I'm important
(my suit told me so)
6.
the birds flock to the city
to feast on the scraps,
the discarded rubbish
the things we don't want
a child, innocent eyes
probing hearts-
ribs that could slice to the bone
this child, hungry
starving
dying.
But the birds are full.
BewareI am a park
meant for beauty
yet the things I see
are not
murders, muggings
all under my secure shade
I hide all. I conceal
beware the cover of night
TearsIt is raining
- the sun is crying for the light it cannot shed
Grow Upshe used to
come to my house
every Thursday it was
and play with me
they were the good times
arguments only came when
she wouldn't let me play
with her new Lionheart Carebear
or when her Barbie was
bridesmaid when mine
got to be the bride
those days or games were
what life was meant to be
things are different now-
more complicated.
time brought with it
the need to
grow up
these days
a Barbie is something
we admire only because
we appreciate the fact that the same
small plastic doll
can be sold
again and again
by adding a new handbag
or a new hat
the old days were life
and these days are like the game
and I don't want to play
this game anymore