19 December 2012
Ralph Bunche Park
Manhattan, New York
Filed under Advent, New York, Photo, United Nations
Fire races
from his hip to his knee;
his shoulder
stiffens and throbs;
yet both pains,
all pains,
pale against
the strangling grief
that crushes
life and joy
from his heart.
3:10 AM
23 November 2013
Shire on the Hudson
Manhattan, New York
This post is way overdue.
Last Thanksgiving, Tricia came to New York. Eric could not leave Austin where he served as a Young Adult Volunteer. With Sean and I both living in New York, it made sense for Tricia to come here.
We had a great time. We ate too much and we saw a number of sites. Tricia said she needed to come back when she could stay longer.
I pondered that and did some research and consulted Sean. Then I purchased two 7-Day New York Passes for Christmas.
The New York Pass is a ‘smart card’ – like a credit card with a computer chip inside – which allows you completely cash free entry to over 80 New York tourist attractions. It’s a bit like an ‘all you can eat’ buffet – once you’ve bought your New York Pass you don’t have to pay to get into any of the attractions covered by the pass and the more sites you see, the more money you save.
At some locations, often the busiest attractions, the New York Pass allows you to skip the lines.
Tricia returned to New York in June and we used the pass. It worked perfectly. We had a wonderful time. We went to the places one would expect – the Circle Cruise, the Empire State Building, and the Top of the Rock. We went to new places – the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. We went to places that I might never have gone – MoMA and the Metroplitan Museum of Art. We toured DUMBO and Central Park. We ran ourselves ragged and truly enjoyed this amazing city.
Whether you live in New York and need to see the sites or whether you come to New York to visit, I recommend you use the New York Pass. It is good stuff.
See you along the Trail.
By the edge of the
California Sea Lions’ tank
purple flowers provide
a spiders’ loom.
Prospect Park Zoo
Brooklyn, New York
22 November 2012
One last time I straightened my tie.
Unable to forestall the inevitable,
I donned my coat, picked up
the burden of the living
and left my apartment.
Into the cold, grey New York day
I walked to Broadway and turned
toward Union Seminary bearing
the burden of the living
to the scheduled service.
A cab pulled up as I crossed the street,
I noticed others walking – some I knew,
some I did not – all carrying
the burden of the living,
the weight slowing their steps
From east and west, north and south,
many faiths and colors we gathered
in the chapel accompanied by
the burden of the living
held in common, yet unique.
Strains of Springsteen greeted us.
Hearts ached, tears flowed,
as in a fog, shrouded by
the burden of the living
we remembered, sang and prayed.
Parents, siblings, colleagues, friends
we filled that sacred space
and, for a brief, precious time, found
the burden of the living
lessened for being shared.
Songs sung, prayers prayed, after
one last hug, one last, cold tear, we go
into the evening accompanied by
the burden of the living,
giving thanks for Annie Rawlings’ life.
With thanks to my friend Yena Hwang for the image
Shire on the Hudson
Manhattan, New York
12 November 2013
Purple trumpets
shine out
from a grey-green background.
Central Park, Manhattan
27 October 2012
Weary, drained,
I stand on the platform
and wait for the train.
I know there is no
signal, yet still
I check my phone.
I step to the edge
and marvel at the
debris between the rails.
The air begins to stir;
then picks up force;
wind surges down the tunnel.
Displaced by the arriving train,
the wind whistles through the station,
and the wind whispers “home.”
And it revives me.
Shire on the Hudson
31 October 2013
Just when I gave away my last flea,
I see this:
If only I had waited.
See you along the Trail
Pale purple flowers
extend tender antennae
to explore and monitor.
Morningside Gardens, New York
19 October 2013
Tomorrow
becomes
tomorrow
becomes
tomorrow.
Day follows day
like pages
turning in a book.
Tomorrow
becomes
tomorrow
becomes
tomorrow.
Until tomorrow
becomes today,
becomes the day,
and we act.
18 October 2013
Shire near the Hudson, New York
Along the Graybeard Trail 