poem of the day 06.15.16

saturday matinee

at the american ballet theater

and there is sunshine

and a light breeze

coming down broadway

as my wife and i drink water on a bench

and watch the people around us

greedily consume some abomination known as brunch

one would call this a nice day

if one were so inclined

looking across the street at lincoln center

there is something going on

an opera

or a saturday matinee at the american ballet theater

hundreds of kids are playing with a fountain

that rises and falls with the rapidity of some regimes

well-dressed little girls (mostly)

and some well-dressed boys

are crossing the street with their parents

to join in the fun

american flags are waving high and bold in the sky

like they do on every block

and the friendly neighborhood police officers

are there too!

four S.U.V. tanks of them lining broadway

taking up a lane and blocking traffic

oh, how the car horns of angry drivers

mixes so well with the smell of bacon and mimosas

the police are in full riot gear

helmets and bulletproof vests

NYPD plastered on their backs

so as to not confuse them with the army or the national guard

because it’s so hard not to these days

almost all of our heroes are carrying automatic weapons

assault rifles to go with some tchaikovsky and verdi

who knew and opera or a ballet could be so dangerous?

i never knew the cops could be so cultured!

i suppose this is the sort of thing

that makes people feel safe these days

safe to drink mimosas and eat runny eggs in outdoor cafes

safe to take the kids to see swan lake

safe to drink a bottle of water

while killing an hour or two people watching

still it’s hard to sit there

watching the little kids in pants and sundresses

mingling with the masters of urban warfare

and not wonder what we’ve sacrificed

for these freedoms that we’ve been given

what’s the true cost of brunch in lincoln center these days?

or in getting in a little art before noon

what’s the true cost of that sick feeling

the one sitting in the pit of our stomachs each morning

as we rise from our beds to face this america

believing that freedom is still more than a word

bandied about by politicians in the heat of battle

hoping that empty platitudes

belong to someone and somewhere else

and that the smiling cops in riot gear

don’t turn around one day

during an intermission

and point those friendly fully automatic peace keepers

right at you.