MORNING MOON
During the day the sun
Hogs all the attention
But the moon is there all the time
Not just at night
Perhaps some morning
When you are walking in the park
While it's breezy
Next to a lake
If you're lucky
You may just look up at the sky
And the moon will catch you by surprise
The cute polar bear
Standing on the lawn
With a scarf around its neck
Holding a present
Of course is not real
One day however
It might be a sad reminder
Of the great creature
Who once roamed the arctic
Before receiving
The cruel gift
Of extinction
THE SEAGULL
Does the seagull on top
Of the lamppost
In Kissena Park
Look at the humans
Walking by
And wonder:
Why are they missing the great view?
On Meadow Lake
Mid-December morning
Almost sixty degrees
Seagulls and ducks lounge around
As cars pass by
Along the various highways
Where are they going?
The seagulls and ducks don't care
They are enjoying the sun and the water
Some just know how to live!
MANDARINS
Astoria
In a fruit store
On 30th Street
The sign promises
Sweet California Mandarins
And as proof:
TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT
How can one refuse?
So I tried a mandarin
Which was indeed sweet
Afterwards I bought a few pounds
That's what I would call
Effective advertisement
NIGHT SKY IN FOREST HILLS
I was looking to take a picture of the moon
But the moon was hiding or camera shy
So I had to settle for a picture of the
Night sky with a distant star
Walking home after buying bananas
Walnuts
Blackberries
Shaving cream and a charging cable
I had watched the sanitation man
Throw a clear plastic bag
Filled with cardboard
Into the street
Which later he picked up
Chucking it inside the garbage truck
With cars honking
And the massive apartment buildings
Looming over me
I thought what a mess
We've made of our world
But then suddenly I realized
Who cares?
The planet certainly doesn't
Time just keeps moving forward
Six hundred and thirty million
Four hundred and fifty six thousand
And ninety three days from now
This same spot I am standing in
Will still be here
And there's nothing that can change that
Even with our bombs we can't really
Blow everything up
We can only destroy ourselves
Earth in a way was
Letting me know
Thank you for worrying
But I got this
A PURE AESTHETIC
82nd Avenue
In Kew Gardens
Passes over the Long Island Railroad tracks
It is not a particularly busy road
Either with cars or people
John Chadwell took his time
To create "EASTBOUND-WESTBOUND"
On the side walls of the pedestrian bridge
Not because he was trying to become famous
Or rich
Getting in your face
With a big statement
Or deep meaning
Simply a working artist
Contributing his palette of colors
For those who might enjoy it
And for those who walk by
Without bothering to look
No harm
No foul
PFC LAURENCE STRACK MEMORIAL POND
Walking along Woodhaven Boulevard
I saw a sign for Strack Pond
My first instinct was just to keep going
As I was getting hungry
But I decided to stop and see
Actually the trail was only a few steps away
And right as I entered into the woodlands
The world suddenly changed
The busy street disappeared
I was in another place
Tranquil
With a completely different rhythm
Strack pond is named after a young soldier
Laurence Strack from Woodhaven
Who was killed in Vietnam in 1967
To honor him they built two ballfields
Where the pond now stands
Later it was brought back to its natural state
So that today you can spend
A few relaxing minutes
Away from the hustle and bustle nearby
Who knew?
TINY CHAIR
Tiny Chair
No longer needed
Outgrown?
A good thing I suppose
But why does the little chair
Next to the large garbage bags
Make me feel so sad?
Walking along 71st Avenue
In Forest Hills Gardens
Looking down at the floor
I saw a strange metal plate
"MONUMENT
TOPOGL BUREAU
BOR. QUEENS"
What kind of bureau is the TOPOGL?
Something like the FBI or even more secret?
Is the TOPOGL BUREAU watching
Over the Borough of Queens?
Who are these people who work for
The TOPOGL BUREAU?
Where is their headquarters?
Do the workers wear Topogl badges?
And why a monument?
Aren't they in Washington D.C.
Or in Cemeteries?
I pondered these questions for a while
And then decided to let my imagination fly
Maybe there is no TOPOGL BUREAU
In Queens or anywhere else
The monument is where
The little green men
From the center of the Earth come out of
Each borough has one of these passageways
For the little green men
From the center of the Earth to use
Or maybe the little green men
From the center of the Earth are already here
Have been here for a long time
Hiding away in some distant forest
Unfortunately as a result of global warming
And the vanishing habitats
Many of the original little green men
Are dying off
The remaining ones
Desperate to survive
Now wish to return home
But the hole they
Once used to come out of ground
Has faded from their memory
Occasionally some of the little green men
Go on expeditions searching to find
Their long lost portal
With no luck so far
If however for some inexplicable
Reason the remaining little green men
Are reading this blog entry
Now at least they know where
Their ticket home is located
Finally I Googled: TOPOGL BUREAU
Which indicated the marker has to do
With maps made by the
Bureau of Topographical Engineers
Used as benchmarks for the size of streets
And property lines
How dull
LIKE TWO EAGLES
Two bald eagles
Now reside at the Queens Zoo
Neither can fly
One was hit by a plane
The other was shot by a hunter
It' ain't easy being
A national symbol
FALL COLORS
It's late October
Fall is here
The leaves are changing color
I am sure there is a very scientific reason for this
Perhaps even a poetic one
Walking along Queens Boulevard
I noticed a tag lying on the sidewalk
With three words:
"UN-NEST BEFORE SELLING"
I picked up the tag and turned it over
To see if I could get more information
The other side read the same thing
So I was left with a three word mystery
Reminds me of Ernest Hemingway's
Six word story:
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
At the Queens Zoo
The sign reads Great horned owls
Are very proficient hunters
They can turn their heads 270 degrees
Which helps them find their food
They are true wiseguys!
WATER LANTERNS
Water lanterns
Drift along the Fountain of the Planets
Each with their own message to the stars
Sun reflecting on Meadow Lake
Drops of sparkling light
Falling from the clear blue sky
COLOR BLIND
Walking by the flower
I was drawn to its color
Which color
I can't tell you
As I am color blind
More like shade blind
But I still can't tell you what
Color it is
But I can sense its beauty
Its composed power
Not too in your face
(At least not mine)
But just enough to capture
Your attention
CREATION
Engulfed by concrete
Within the seats of Yellowstone Park
Life somehow finds a way to rise
Creation is the default mode of the universe
AFTERMATH
In some neighborhoods of Queens, people went back to their normal lives after the flood waters of Hurricane Ida. In others, they weren't so lucky.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/nyregion/queens-flooding-cleanup.html
https://nypost.com/2021/09/05/de-blasio-tours-queens-business-ravaged-by-ida-floodwaters/
https://nypost.com/2021/09/06/biden-oks-nys-major-disaster-declaration-for-ida-damage/
MORNING AFTER
The morning after the remnants
Of Hurricane Ida dumped
More than seven inches of rain
The sun is out in Queens
The cicadas are singing
And a monarch butterfly
Is going about its business
Nature never takes a break
CICADA
Leaving my apartment building this morning
Walking down the pathway to Yellowstone Boulevard
Resting on a plant I noticed a large insect
Initially I thought it was a dragonfly
I texted a picture to my niece who is my personal Wikipedia
To nature as she lives out in the country in Southern Virginia
She told me it wasn't a dragonfly but a cicada
According to her:
"It probably recently hatched. They live underground for
19 years and then surface and only live for a few weeks."
The cicada I observed on the leaf didn't move much
Maybe it was acclimating to life in
The wilds of Queens
Or perhaps it was just taking a nap
Before it eats sings and mates
No more waiting to get into the library
Return to our normal lives
We had our chance
United States
Avg. on Aug, 7, 2021
New Cases 108,513 +111%
New Deaths 506 +89%
As the poem goes:
For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.
Right across from where
Donald Trump went to high school
There is an underpass
Which tries to give you the illusion
You are entering an underworld
While not exactly a place Hades might hangout
As you first go down the stairs you are greeted
By a crumbled pack of Marlboro 100 Lights cigarettes
Broken glass is scattered on the ground
And there is a generous display of trash
Plastic and paper bags like they've been
There for hundreds of years rest comfortably
Next to a Red Mango yogurt paper cup leaning on
A container recently prepared by Dagan Catering
Marked: Egg salad sandwich
Side salad
You are also treated to a variety of empty bottles and cans:
Poland Spring water (born in Maine since 1845)
Wine (80% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Merlot)
Smirnoff Zero Sugar Infusions(Strawberry & Rose)
Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey(Kentucky's 1st Distiller)
Modelo beer
Dole sliced pineapples
Guava nectar
Just to name a few
You don't know who or what you
Will find as you go through the underpass
The walls of peeling paint scarred by artless graffiti
Make you feel at anytime someone or something
Can sneak up from behind and grab you
So picking up your pace seems the best option
Funny enough I have walked through many times
But I have actually never seen anyone else there
Just the leftovers
Of a quite a devilish party I imagine
THE SPIRIT OF COMMUNICATION
Atop the entrance to
The Forest Hills Post Office
There is a terracotta bass relief sculpture
Done in 1938
Of a topless woman
Holding a carrier pigeon and a clock
Most people walk right by her
As they are busy trying to send
Or pick up mail
Some things or some people
Are destined to be ignored
The other night while watching
"The Doomsday Machine" episode
Of the original Start Trek series
For the fiftieth time or maybe more
(Don't ask me why)
I started to focus on the crew woman
At the beginning of the show
Who passes by Captain James T. Kirk
On the bridge of the USS Enterprise
Blocking him for a brief moment
If you blink your eyes twice
You would most likely miss her
Why is she there?
Like so many others you see
In the background
Walking the corridors
Of the starship
Going places
Supposedly doing things
You are not meant to
Think much or anything about them
However for whatever reason
I'm not sure if its because
She seemed disconnected
From the danger at hand
(A solar system has been destroyed)
Holding on to a tablet and a pen
I wondered who she was
I started to search for her
Going to various websites
With no luck
It's like she didn't exist
But finally I found something in
One of the Star Trek sites
Listing her as Crew Woman 13
She had apparently appeared
In another episode
"Amok Time"
Wanting to know her name
I found:
Unknown actress
A mystery to everyone but herself
At least the sculpture
Atop the entrance
To the Forest Hills Post Office
Has a name:
"The Spirit of Communication"
It's not easy being a rat in Queens
The scorching weather in July
And just when you thought
You were catching a break
With ice appearing from nowhere
Manna from heaven?
Turns out to be another human
Attempt to do you in
Time for a vacation
MUSHROOMS
I know what you're thinking
Mushrooms are growing wild
In MacDonald Park
Along Queens Boulevard
So what else is new?
But I've passed by this
Small park
Hundreds if not thousands
Of times before
And I've never seen
Such a lovely sight
Did I miss them?
I doubt it as they do pop
Out at you
A welcomed new addition
To the neighborhood
At least until someone
Decides to taste them
The chickens have come home to roost
In Forest Hills High School
Not sure they know why
And neither do I
Bird-brains?
Nature works in mysterious ways
The sign makes it clear
Poop here and God will punish you
Do they believe God is that bored
To care who is pooping where?
Besides maybe a truly compassionate
God understands when you got
To go you got to go
Dog or man
FLIGHT
Just in case you might be wondering
Where you are
Hanging from the glass ceiling
When you enter the spacious room
In the Marine Air Terminal (A)
Of La Guardia Airport
Is a model airplane
The Art Deco building
Constructed during the Great Depression
Opened for business in 1939
Its the last remaining terminal still in use
Where you can can experience
What it was like when
Air travel first became available
To the general public
Housed inside is also the largest mural of
The Works Progress Administration
A Franklin Roosevelt New Deal agency
Which employed over ten thousand artists
Encouraging them to discover
A distinctive American style
James Brooks circular "Flight"
Completed in 1942
Is 237 feet long by 12 feet high
Capturing humanity's
Longing to soar above the earth
However in 1952 during the Cold War
Red Scare hysteria
Someone decided to cover up
The mural with wall paint
Because this magnificent work of art
Was thought to be subversive
Socialist or Communist
Daring to depict flying
As something catering to the masses
Not strictly to the rich or to the military
Fortunately the mural
Was sealed in varnish
So it was able to be restored
To its former glory in 1980
Showing us our imagination
Can often reach up to the skies
And at other times
Sink down to the gutter
Only as in this case to rise again
MAGNOLIA
Taking an evening stroll
Through Forest Hills Gardens
I came across a huge white flower
Blooming from a tree
Which seemed out of place
As it was the only one of its kind
I recognized it as a magnolia
As my sister who lives
In a small town in southern Virginia
Has one in her front yard
There it is common
Although lonely here
The Magnolia tree appeared healthy
Adding a distinctive charm
To the otherwise ordinary side street
SKELETON
Why there is skeleton attached
To a building in Fort Totten
The former military base
Now turned into a park
In Bay Terrace
I never found out
But it's a good place
To get some fresh air
With some nice views to boot
Nobody really likes a parking meter
But seeing the remaining few
Along Queens Boulevard
Vandalized
Out of service
Waiting to be removed
Didn't change my mind
Good riddance!
PIGEON SIGN
The sign in the small park
On Queens Boulevard reads:
"DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS"
In other words:
LET THE PIGEONS STARVE!
BALANCE
The cup on top
Of the fire hydrant
On Austin Street
Is a nice reminder
That the key to life
Is finding the right balance
FREE ICE CREAM
Who can resist free ice cream?
You'd think the line would be
Blocks long
Surprisingly the orthodontist
Who sponsored the giveaway
On the corner of Bell Blvd and 39th Ave
In Bayside
Was having a tough time
Drumming up business
I'm sure in the right place
At the right time
The ice cream truck would be swarmed
And tempers easily flared
Too much of a good thing
Or not enough?
TWA HOTEL
As I rushed into the old TWA terminal
Turned into a hotel in 2019 with over
Five hundred rooms and a rooftop infinity pool
In JFK airport (formerly Idlewild)
I felt I was living in a time warp
Somewhere in the 1960's
(The main building was designed
By architect Eero Saarinen in 1962)
But I was worrying about
How long I could keep
My car in the lot
Thinking I would take a quick peek inside
I had not used a valet to park
So while I looked around
Saw the vintage uniforms displayed up close
And could see a 1950's
Lockheed Constellation (Connie)
L-1649 Starliner airplane
Through the large window
Appreciated how they meticulously
Brought back many original details
Such as the ceramic floor tiles
Red carpets in the hallways
And rotary pay phones (10cents a call)
I also noticed my car was
Facing the wrong way
I had parked forward first
Instead of in reverse
The valets would spot it right away
I decided I had seen enough
Would return another time
(Maybe stay as a guest )
So I ran out of the terminal/hotel
Backed up my car carefully
And quickly headed to the exit
