New York Makes Him Cry

Cut through the days
one after another,
possessed and deliberate,
thoughtless and cruel:

The boy, he wants to go;
the man, scared to know.

Rip into the night,
night after a long day—
depressed and deliberate:
lights and action.

The city, he loves it at random,
but in love, he must stay here now or never know;
he’s scared to know.

Up all night,
the city never sleeps,
but he sleeps in his city,
possessed and dreaming
of leaving
not just anyone.
The nightmare makes him cry,
thoughtless and cruel,
whisper calling out.

Loving the constants,
one keeps him from the other;
he would wait for none other.

The boy wants to go;
the whisper comes so slow;
the man is scared to know.

7 November 1989
Age 20