Chelsea, NYC

Chelsea, NYC

It's burrowed between Hell's Kitchen and Hudson Yards,
Midtown, Flatiron and West Village;

find myself settling above the river, Liberty's arm raised
in the distance, admiring High Line's greenway,
a resurrection from grit and grime
of the once bustling West Side Line.

Today the old track sidles beside blue star and chokeberry,
flowering quince and dogtooth violets,
with dainty white blooms of the serviceberry tree
sprouting mid-track.  Come June, red berries will pop,
ripen into shades of dark wine as canopies of leaves
offer shade to dog and man.

I've a book tucked beneath my arm, a camera,
find a bench, sit a spell, look forward
to meeting my love this evening
beneath the magnolia trees of Chelsea.

Yesterday toured Madison Square,
delighted myself with ethnic food
and Flea Market finds, meandered Chelsea's Pier,
took note of Carousel at 62, luxury cruises,
theatres, local breweries...

reach into canvas bag from morning's
Farmer's Market, nibble buttery croissant,
enjoy sun's breeze upon my shoulders
before I don straw-brimmed hat,
idle this day away until I greet my man
beneath twinkling borough lights
and birds twittering "goodnight".

by Margaret Bednar, April 14, 2019

the old tracks...

Rooftops from the Sky Line

Overlooking the Hudson River

Look closely - that is Ms. Liberty herself

123rf

I'm hosting and I think I broke my own rule ... "don't take us on a nature walk, take us on a walk through an urban area - a big city, small town..."  Ha, well... the High Line IS in NYC...

This is linked with "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - The Streets of Brooklyn" (or whatever urban city walk one would like to take us on).  I am hosting this challenge and I went with Chelsea, NYC, one of my favorite (as of yet) places in NYC.

Also linked with "NaPoWriMo" - National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.