the wind off the Hudson

sure

the ocean is swell.

all that blue

and salt in the air,

the gulls,

the long stretch

of white sand,

it screams

of sun

and youth.

but a day at the beach

is no longer

a day

at the beach

for me.

give me the subway

car,

the jostle

of Manhattan,

give me the bum in

the alley,

the neon,

give me the chaos

of taxis,

the steel and brick

of it all.

art and movies.

martinis.

pastrami.

give me the wind

off the Hudson, give

me a place

where imagination

is born.