NIGHT SKY IN FOREST HILLS

 

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

 

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

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

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?

MONUMENT

 MONUMENT

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

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