BEACH ART?

BEACH ART?

Taking a break from a picnic 

In a park in Howard Beach

I went for a walk

Following a trail I ended up

In a small beach facing Jamaica Bay

Where I found a log wrapped in fabric

An art installation work inspired by

Christo and Jeanne-Claude?

Most likely not

I also saw a piece of lemon 

A bag of potato chips

A bottle of laundry detergent cut in half

Plastic rings and other assorted goodies

Heading back to the picnic area

A woman passing by said: 

"If everybody keep it clean then it will be good"

Then it started to rain

 

FREE MEAL

FREE MEAL

During the height of the pandemic

It's easy to understand why those

Who could leave did

But others chose to stay

Daring to walk through the ambulances

Surrounding the hospitals

Into the main entrance

Ready to fulfill their duty

At seven every night

Those who remained in the city

Would stand by their 

Windows and terraces

Banging pots

Making noises

Thanking those who kept doing 

What was necessary

Whether delivering food

Or answering an emergency call

Now as the pandemic seems

To be receding

As the memory of their valor

Becomes fainter

A free meal

Offered by a restaurant

In Forest Hills to the 

First responders and 

Healthcare workers

Is a nice way to make sure

No one forgets those 

Who stood up

When they were needed

JUST CORN

 

JUST CORN

The only time I eat corn

Is at street fairs

Like the one today in Austin Street

Lightly toasted

Without anything else

Just corn

ICES

 

ICES

My wife and I walked down 108th Street

To the Lemon Ice King of Corona

Which has been around since 1944

It offers so many flavors of ices

(You are not allowed to mix)

Making it hard to decide

Which is the one that speaks to you

I started with a medium pistachio

My wife chose the same 

While the vivid green color

Might make some hesitate

Not us

The real pieces of pistachios

Found in the ice

The cool and sweet treat on the hot day

Was just right

We sat on a bench

On Corona Avenue people watching

After I finished the pistachio ice

I wanted more

My wife didn't 

On the way home

I ordered again

This time I went for

A small rum raisin

 

YELLOW WATERMELON

 

 

YELLOW WATERMELON

On the metal table next to the truck

Full of whole watermelons

Parked on 108th Street 

Were a variety of watermelons

Cut into quarters and halves

Several of the pieces displayed

Captured my imagination 

Because of their unusual  color

Turns out the first watermelons 

Grown in Africa over 5000 years ago

Were actually yellow

Over the years through

Selective cross-breeding

And an increased level of lycopene 

A plant nutrient  which gives

Fruits and vegetables their red hue

Watermelons gradually became 

The pinkish-red we all know well

Yellow watermelons however 

Have a healthy dose of 

Vitamins A and C

And what they lack in the antioxidant

Benefits of lycopene 

They make up in beta carotene

For fifteen dollars

My wife and I bought an entire one

Which the man selling them

Cut in half for us

It didn't last long in the fridge

The golden watermelon was sweet and delicious

On a hot humid day

Everything you could ask for

 

ROCKET

 ROCKET

The sign in Rocket Park in Flushing Meadows

Warns you that it's a real Atlas rocket

In fact it's an intercontinental missile

The USA needed something fast to get

A human into orbit to compete with

The USSR during the Cold War Space Race

A year earlier April 12, 1961 

(International Day of Human Space Flight)

Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

Had become the first human to enter space

And orbit the Earth

Since the payload was small for the 

This particular intercontinental missile

The  capsule put on top didn't leave much

Extra room for John Glenn who was chosen

For the mission  to become 

The first American to orbit the Earth 

On February 20, 1962

The 260,000 pound Mercury-Atlas D rocket

Fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen

Took off sending Glenn 

In his cramped Friendship 7 capsule

(Rocket Park has an exact-size replica)

Into space for 4 hours and 55 minutes

Where he circled the globe three times

An important step towards the United States

Landing on the moon in 1969

 

ENGINE

 ENGINE

The gate to Rocket Park

In Flushing Meadows 

Was open so I went in

A worker was busy hosing down the place

I thought he was going to tell me to leave

He didn't

So I got to take in the 

Saturn V F-1 engine without rushing 

It took five of these gigantic engines

Two and a half minutes

And seven and a half million pounds

Of thrust

(Go baby, go!)

To lift the Saturn V rocket 

All thirty-six storeys

Off the ground 

During the first stage

Of the Apollo flight 

To the moon

No other engine ever built

Is as powerful 

Or as earth-shattering