Broadway and 42nd, and: O Clear Night

Broadway and 42nd

Once great and white Then sordid and shabby

Then a rainbow Blooming out of it

A plastic rainbow And a million multicolored lights

Selling everything in the world Tits and ass, ambition, fashion

Entertainment and sports Always changing

And always the same Monster desire

O Clear Night

O clear night, O cool morning, it feels good, old womanGrass coming up from the dirt, from the dead, said the old woman I am walking leisurely around the block breathing green A dog behind a fence barks at me as I approach, said the old woman

An angry dog, perhaps someone’s been beating him, Perhaps he’s been left alone and he’s hungry, said the old woman

Remembering the dogs in her life and conscious That a dog needs to be fed, the old woman

Considers ringing the neighbor’s doorbell and mentioning Politely that a dog needs to be fed. O sure, said the old woman

In a confident and humorous tone, attempting to emulate Grace Paley, another hopeful old woman,

Just as a lawn needs to be mown, a driveway to be repaired, A house, even a mansion, needs fresh paint or it is dead, said the old woman

In terms of what you can get for it, even if real estate prices are Soaring, even if the Chinese are buying, said the old woman

Who on a good day a fair morning like this, summons her courage: I open the gate, stride up the driveway, the dog (said the old woman)

Is barking louder and now he’s in the house. It will be I who feeds him, I suppose, said the old woman

Either you feed me or I kill you, said the dog You sound like a human being, said the old woman.