ARCADE

 

ARCADE

I went to find an arcade

When I was a kid 

We would take the Q53 bus

On 63rd Drive 

In front of Woolworth

All the way to Rockaway Beach

The last stop

Was 116th Street

There before you got to the beach

Was an arcade

While they had many games

My favorite was Skee-ball

You rolled a ball

Up an inclined lane

And try to land it in 

In one of the rings

Where you received  points

Then you would redeem 

The points for a prize

Because of the arcade

116th Street seemed like a fair

Combined with the beach

It made for a great summer day

Unfortunately after not going back

To 116th Street in many many years

I found the arcade half-shuttered

And everything else next to it 

Closed down

Maybe they're ready to put up a building

But I felt like someone had stolen

Something from me

Didn't they realize how perfect it was?

Those kids getting off the bus 

This summer will never know

What fun they missed 

At least they still have the beach 

For now

 

HUG ME

 

HUG ME

In case you're out of practice

Hugging

Trees are volunteering

To get you back in the groove

So if you go up to the 

Forest Park Overlook

You will find trees

Happy to receive your affection 

With or without a mask

JETTY

 

JETTY

Reminiscing in Rockaway Beach

With an old friend who has traveled

To many distant parts of the world 

About growing up in Queens

He asked if we could walk on the jetty

Not wanting to disappoint him

I said yes

Stepping on the rocks was easy until

We got close to the end

He kept going

Climbing gracefully on 

Some jagged rocks

Until he reached  the edge

Where the waves

Crashed against the rocks

There he stared out  

With a breeze on his face

At the Atlantic ocean

What he was thinking

I don't know

Because I stayed behind 

Not wanting to risk falling

Settling for a mere picture

CHALK

 

CHALK

You can still find traces 

Here and there

That despite all the modern gadgets 

We inundate kids with

All that's needed to have fun

And be a child is much simpler:

Pavement + chalk

RELICS

 

RELICS

A sign by the tree on Queens Boulevard

Indicating the subway closing 

From 2 AM to 4 AM for cleaning 

Is out of date

Now the subway is back to running

Twenty-fours 

Perhaps one day not too far away

We will find more and more relics

Of a time when the routines we

All rely on disappeared

Normal became abnormal 

What will we make of these relics?

Will we want to keep them as souvenirs

Of a difficult period that has passed?

Or as reminders of what's possible

If we are not vigilant?

Or will we just want to throw them away

And forget the whole nightmare ever happened?

FIRE ALARM BOX

 

FIRE ALARM BOX

I don't know what knocked down the 

Rarely if ever used

Long rectangular fire alarm box

From the 1960's

On Yellowstone Boulevard

But at some point most likely 

It will be removed

And taken out of service

No one will miss it much

Although seeing the letters

F D N Y

Sticking out of the red plate 

Brings to mind

All of the firefighters 

Who sacrifice their lives to help others

Unlike the old fire alarm boxes

They will never become useless

 

CRUSHER

 CRUSHER

When I arrived 

In the parking lot of the supermarket

In Elmhurst

The machine was on

Busy crushing a cardboard box

A man operating it was standing by

When he left 

The machine warned you

Not to mess with it

The most important sign was:

"Danger Do Not Enter"

Which didn't stop a sparrow from dropping by

And venturing into the forbidden zone

My mind laughed at its innocence

But somehow sensing it was not

An ideal place to sunbathe

The sparrow quickly took off

And shortly after I did as well

 

BIG BALLS

 

BIG BALLS

As I waited for my car

To be inspected nearby

I found myself in the middle

Of a bocce court

From the Land of the Giants

Whoever designed the area in Briarwood

Between the eastbound  and westbound lanes

Of Queens Boulevard

Placed huge concrete balls

Along the sides

What a funny place 

So I sat on one of the few benches

As a man walking his dog passed by

I thought of reading my book 

When I spotted

Underneath the bench across from me

A dead rat 

And many hungry flies

While I appreciated the arrangement

Of the park

I decided it was time to get up and  see

If my car was ready

FENCE

 

FENCE

Somehow a fence got in the middle of a tree

Or a tree in the middle of a fence

Not sure who is in

Or who is out

The tree doesn't seem to be going anywhere

And neither does the fence

A lesson to be learned?

TELEPHONE BUILDING

 

TELEPHONE BUILDING

Driving a friend home in Ridgewood 

I passed by a telephone building

One wonders when the building first went up

Was it full of operators?

While I still have a landline phone

It is hardly ever used

And I can't remember the last time

I spoke with an operator

Is there one still working

In the telephone building in Ridgewood?

ORANGES

 

ORANGES

Cara Cara oranges

With their red flesh

Were once a specialty item

Low in acid

And packed with flavor

They can now be found in abundance

In a fruit stand on Metropolitan Avenue

4 for 5 dollars

WEEDS

 

WEEDS

We make chemicals just to kill them

Weeds somehow interfere with our aesthetics

Lawns should have blades of green grass

But no weeds

That's the prevailing wisdom

In a field  in Forest Park

Where weeds grow undisturbed

They look perfectly serene

Part of the natural landscape

No less or more than the grass

The trees or the yellow wildflowers 

 

GARBAGE

 

GARBAGE

When I saw this arrangement of plastic bags 

And some other assorted detritus 

What I noticed was how colorful it was

Was it just an accident that all these colors came together?

Or did some eccentric florist decide

To create an unusual bouquet?

If Renoir or some other Impressionist walked by

I wonder if they would think the scene worthy of a study

 And if they did would people now be paying millions

To hang garbage in their living rooms?

BUDDHA

 

BUDDHA

Passing by a street 

In Kew Gardens

A statue of a Buddha

On the sidewalk

Near an entrance

Caught my attention 

I asked my friend if

The place was a temple

He said it was not

Just an apartment building

He kept on walking ahead

I stopped to look at 

The sitting Buddha

Must be nice 

Before coming home

To be reminded to let the worries

Of the day slip away

And focus on Enlightenment

Smiling I tried to catch up with my friend