someone spit
it must have been an immigrant
or a colonist
but walking down the street, somewhere in deep Brooklyn
or in Manhattan around Broadway and the 30s
some poor fool saw something festering
like a piece of gum on the summer concrete
but it was all grass and woodchips
pastoral—like
the Hudson River School
this dude pulled back on his nose and mucus
and unleashed a city.

some cities—the other ones—it's
hard to believe they were ever born
or that they will ever die from floods or volcanoes
but New York is only here for a little while
It hangs in the air like a scream 30 seconds after
still hear it
only here forever, New York
the trees and the subways eyeing each other for control
only have forever
quiet New York who I've caught sleeping on a Sunday morning
or laughing at brunch
only the air

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