Repeat Performance

Once more, with my jumbled feelings,
I roam the foxy city where skyscrapers bond
to free-floating moods and bridges curve
to leap over the East River.

On Broadway, preachers' shrieks
steal roles on the corners: "Repent!"
But I stick with the hot pastrami sandwich
from Roxie's, and taste buds ablaze, flip
greasy singles in a box; a sax seesaws
through an impromptu recital, as jazzy lungs tint
my cluttered senses blue.
Nothing much has changed, except
my soft center and the barbaric
nostalgia of too many years.

I stroll south
on the way to the piers, as I once did,
recalling the slush hurled by cars
and the residue of acidic deeds that corroded
my feats and slashed me inside, lifelong.

The traffic pushes sidewalks aside
and stops breathing where
Wall Street harbors creditor class,
recycling people; yet, the local hip-hop
can't stop when poets and artists
merge their salty lines with
the aroma of sweat.

Would it be another betrayal if,
in my commotion, I streaked away again
akin to an ill-omened comet
escaping from the sun?






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Prompt: Write a poem that captures the pace of a large city. Try to use as many of the five senses as you possibly can. Feel free to use free verse (structured or unstructured) or formal poetry. If you use a form, tell us which form you are using (sonnet, triolet, ballad, etc.) Do your own thing and have fun.