Bela and the Rats Ages ago, in 1966, I abandoned my first marriage And moved downtown to a rat-infested loft In lower Manhattan, on Broome Street. Rent was cheap. The ruthless developer Robert Moses Wanted to ram an expressway through the heart Of the historic cast iron district later known as SoHo. Living in… [Read More]
In Memoriam: Windows on the World
I wrote this poem in September of 2001, a few days after the towers fell. I still have vivid memories of Windows on the World, and of the morning of September 11 when I watched the horrific events unfold on my TV screen. I’ve flown a few times since then, but whenever I see a… [Read More]
Twelves ways of looking at Christmas Consumption
In my last post, I described using Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” as a stylistic model for creating an original poem. In my Alchemy of Creative Writing workshop series at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, I challenged the participants to write a poem in this format using the holidays as… [Read More]
Losing my ambition–a poem about lazy summer days
I wrote this poem in late July, and since then I’ve been following my own advice and taking it easy. But August has been unusually cool, and the past week has felt more like September. Maybe that’s why I feel ambition creeping back in ahead of schedule. Why wait for Labor Day when I can… [Read More]
Online Jigsaws: A poem about my latest addiction
Over the past couple of months, I’ve developed a fiendish new addiction: online jigsaw puzzles. I’ve got a lot to say about it, but for now, I’m publishing this poem I wrote a couple of weeks ago. It went over well with my women writers’ group and at Poets Speak Loud at McGeary’s in Albany…. [Read More]