Monday, 21 April 2014

Day 21: New York School

Today's prompt is a cool one: write a poem in the style of the New York School of poets - poets like Frank O'Hara, John Ashberry, Kenneth Koch. In other words, seriously cool poets whose poems are raucous odes to life, full of energy and verve and eclectic use of language. Yay!

In an instance of serendipity I stumbled across this fab blog about New York before seeing this prompt: Spring Fling. All the wonderful photos there of the city in spring inspired this poem. And I very much had Frank O'Hara in mind when I wrote it.





Spring Fling NYC

The trees are brides on display today
beautiful blossomed arms full of posies 
bouqueted dreams that scatter blessings 
on the wind, petals please on 66th and 3rd.
Yellow cabs beeping like bees buzzing 
along 5th Avenue, people going to and fro 
all butterflied up and the hollering of horns 
too sweet Frankie boy, too loud
and irrevocably mine to believe;
the sun shining like in a Hopper painting
new light giving new life to jaded eyes,
the clustered clouds of cherry trees,
illustrious magnolias, magnificent overtures 
to steel sides conducting daydreams:
'if you make it here, you'll make it...' -
faces drinking in nectar skies and the tulips 
rapturous orange little lip flames dancing 
damn fine to traffic light cues and the days 
alive with energy and breathing, green gushing 
gusto mouthpiece of spring seeking world
(kiss me now!) Oh it's fine and dandy and dandy 
and fine to be alive on a spring morning 
in New York city, birds singing, bones singing,
bazuka the pain, goddamnit! Man, I'll be yours 
forever! And in Central Park the strawberry fields 
are sweet again, listen Mister, can you hear 
the dream? The flock of feathers? Two blocks 
and counting, Endymion, ephemeral. Damn Frankie, 
I'll love you forever!  It's you and me together, 
skipping life's glee, sailing the blue waters 
of sky from here on in, to the horizon baby
to the horizon, hands on hearts, souls bursting forth. 


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