One gleaming quarter
Hot from the sun-baked sidewalk
Warms my empty hand
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day 170: When will it rain?
The sere earth beckons
Grass is baked to a dry crisp
Flowers bow to death
(It's been a hot, dry summer around here. Our fire escape basil needs constant watering, and the poor sapling in front of our building [planted by an ambitious public-private initiative devoted to greening NYC] has seen better days. The Long Meadow in Prospect Park looks like a dust bowl. When will it rain?)
Grass is baked to a dry crisp
Flowers bow to death
(It's been a hot, dry summer around here. Our fire escape basil needs constant watering, and the poor sapling in front of our building [planted by an ambitious public-private initiative devoted to greening NYC] has seen better days. The Long Meadow in Prospect Park looks like a dust bowl. When will it rain?)
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 167
A determined crowd
Tears through garbage bags, culling
What can be salvaged
(Intrepid Boyfriend and I were walking down Atlantic Avenue late last night when we saw a small, chaotic crowd in the distance, milling around outside of a certain very popular grocery store. As we got closer, it became apparent that the store had just put out its waste in a few small dumpsters. The people frantically ripped the trash bags to shreds, extracting bruised vegetables, expired meats, and rotting fruit. One man whooped as he discovered a carton of unbroken eggs. Another woman neatly laid out her finds on the sidewalk, most of them covered in grime and food scraps, as if envisioning the meals she could prepare with them. There are a many, many hungry people in this city. I've always known that. I see homeless people often, and I've seen people picking through the trash many times before. But I've never seen anything like this.)
Tears through garbage bags, culling
What can be salvaged
(Intrepid Boyfriend and I were walking down Atlantic Avenue late last night when we saw a small, chaotic crowd in the distance, milling around outside of a certain very popular grocery store. As we got closer, it became apparent that the store had just put out its waste in a few small dumpsters. The people frantically ripped the trash bags to shreds, extracting bruised vegetables, expired meats, and rotting fruit. One man whooped as he discovered a carton of unbroken eggs. Another woman neatly laid out her finds on the sidewalk, most of them covered in grime and food scraps, as if envisioning the meals she could prepare with them. There are a many, many hungry people in this city. I've always known that. I see homeless people often, and I've seen people picking through the trash many times before. But I've never seen anything like this.)
Day 166: it's a living
Armed with screwdrivers
A man extracts metal from
Discarded TVs
(Foraging for scrap metal is a big thing around here. It's not uncommon to see a man or a group of men dissecting castoff household appliances on the sidewalk. Old air conditioners and VCRs are actually worth less than the sum of their parts.)
A man extracts metal from
Discarded TVs
(Foraging for scrap metal is a big thing around here. It's not uncommon to see a man or a group of men dissecting castoff household appliances on the sidewalk. Old air conditioners and VCRs are actually worth less than the sum of their parts.)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Day 165: Brooklyn's own Love Canal
Its opaque waters
Unable to support life
The Gowanus sighs
(Snaking its way into Brooklyn like a crooked, filthy finger, the Gowanus Canal is one of the nation's most polluted waterways. Some of you may remember Sludgie, the apparently healthy Minke whale that wandered into the canal in April 2007 and died two days later. The EPA declared the Canal a Superfund site a few months ago. The designation does not appear to have affected rental prices in the neighborhood.)
Unable to support life
The Gowanus sighs
(Snaking its way into Brooklyn like a crooked, filthy finger, the Gowanus Canal is one of the nation's most polluted waterways. Some of you may remember Sludgie, the apparently healthy Minke whale that wandered into the canal in April 2007 and died two days later. The EPA declared the Canal a Superfund site a few months ago. The designation does not appear to have affected rental prices in the neighborhood.)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 164: how'd he get the hose up there?
A man on a roof
Visible from Smith and 9th
Waters tomatoes
(You may not know this, but the subway stop at Smith and 9th Street is actually the highest stop in the system [yes, the subway actually runs above ground in a lot of places, especially in the newly hip outer boroughs]. Like many others the station is in a hopeless state of disrepair, but you can't beat the view.)
Visible from Smith and 9th
Waters tomatoes
(You may not know this, but the subway stop at Smith and 9th Street is actually the highest stop in the system [yes, the subway actually runs above ground in a lot of places, especially in the newly hip outer boroughs]. Like many others the station is in a hopeless state of disrepair, but you can't beat the view.)
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