the scaffolding on 5th avenue

these scaffolds, 

reaching up

into the sky,

attached

to buildings

with fifty floors,

are never gone

from this city. they

are never removed.

once up,

they stay.

anchored in place until

the end of time. but

they give us shelter

from the storms,

the traffic.

give us shade in the summer.

made of steel

and wood,

the workers climb or

are lifted upwards

with their

tools.

just this one side,

the worker's job,

on the north side,

on 5th avenue will feed

a family of four

for a lifetime.