How cool!

How cool! 

this early summer evening

after a day so oppressive

even we New Yorkers move painstakingly.

The breeze in sumac trees

so why am I not more content? 

The electricity went off at the bank, 

spontaneous bank holiday, 

so I'm broke, drinking water.

All my needs except love

fulfilled. Woman

opens her windows. How cool! 

this summer evening

in New York, dense New York

the jets overhead

the people on the ground suffering

and struggling toward vague goals

or goals clear as Harry Helmsley's.

How cool and refreshing

this glass of ice water

after today's hot pavement, clothes.

During the afternoon heat

I sleep in my underwear.

What a city I murmur to myself

looking at its map. Big, 

Jamaica Bay to Inwood, 

the Battery to Pelham Bay.

Nowadays novels need

a few cities to move the plot.

New York, Saigon, Paris.

The protagonist

does not walk in the park. He

uses his car to get around fast.

How cool this evening in New York! 

Lost among the bars and industry, 

moonrise over Bronx.