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August 23, 2008

Through Binoculars

The sky of tress-tousled clouds declines
above a backdrop of geometric overlays
on the silver river and a pier incomplete.
Through binoculars I can read the sign
on the guard shack and see the hunched
guard within, all those stories down.
The lenses sweep back and forth along
the ancient stage of the downtown street
where shadowy men pass before my gaze,
strophe and antistrophe. Afloat through time
they mime foibles and lapses, in postures
of lassitude and rote distraction, enact
the human condition with current props:
cell phones, palm pilots, Ipods, laptops.
Relieved from work the men hurry from
offices toward pleasure, making plans,
reciting directions into tiny devices.
Slowly I pan upward, training the lenses
on the close blaze of noiseless waves,
the darkening coastline, illegible smudges
of ferries and barges, to the silent shock
of a sail blade at my throat.

Posted by Jane on 6:00 AM | Comments (1)

August 16, 2008

OVERHEARD and GLIMPSED in PASSING

When: Aug. 5, 8:40 AM
Where: Hudson River esplanade
Who: 2 female joggers
Attitude: flat
QuoteUnquote: “I don’t like seeing a naked guy in the shower at 7:10 in the morning.”
*
When: Aug. 3
Where: Washington Square
Who: Businessman on cellphone
Attitude: Amazed
QuoteUnquote: “All his shoes are cheap pressed leather and cost $800 a pair!”
*
When: Aug. 12
Where: 14th Street
Who: middle-aged woman to friend
Attitude: dry
QuoteUnquote: “If I didn’t have my second child I never would have stayed married.”

*

AWESOME AND RISIBLE VISIBLES

1. Man and upended racing bike emerging from a Port-o-San
2. Fat bulldog sitting on bench while owner runs around dog run
3. Cairn terrier scaling 6-foot stone wall to greet canine friends
4. Man fishing on the North Lawn in Rockefeller Park
5. Wild turkey strolling in Battery Park
6. Summer skies
7. Half moon
8. Full moon

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Posted by Jane on 11:36 AM | Comments (1)

August 8, 2008

08-08-08

The purpose of this blog is simply to use the 08-08-08 date at 08:08.

Posted by Jane on 8:08 PM | Comments (1)

August 2, 2008

Rain Dance

Hazy Sunday morning, North Cove marina. A guy in nautical togs, neither young nor old, leans on a floating gangway. He beckons to the dogs. I see he's from the private pleasure yacht just yonder; yes, he’s chief engineer. I can see a uniformed crew serving breakfast aboard. I assume this man, whose name is Raoul, has been a boatman all his life, but no. For years he’d traded commodities on Wall Street. One day he had a sudden urge to sail. I picture him without his tan, in the frantic din of the Stock Exchange, his face greenish under a maelstrom of ciphers like sharks circling in the glower of a tank. The funny thing, Raoul says, is that he'd never even been on a boat. I don’t blame him for his Ishmaelean sense that it was high time to get to sea. Anyway, Raoul buys a little sailboat and climbs aboard to commence his maiden voyage. With a hand on the unfamiliar tiller, he flips through the manual and reads the instructions for “How to Raise the Sail.” That done, he manages to point his prow toward the Bahamas…. As Raoul speaks, a searing lightning taproot rips above Ellis Island. Thunder wreaks a monumental CRACK! like a ship rent in two. Tracy leaps into my arms. I set her down and bid Raoul goodbye. Another whip-crack of thunder, and the shelties bolt through the downpour like sled huskies. We race for shelter under the Irish Hunger Memorial. Already a miscellany of young families is huddled beneath the irregular overhang. The steely rain intensifies to a shrill, high-volume static, thrumming like piano strings. The adults consult watches, rearrange prams, bounce infants and reconfigure plans. Suddenly, one small girl dashes out into the rain, followed by others. Gleefully they gambol and twirl, using the slick pavement as an impromptu rink for dancing.

Posted by Jane on 11:27 AM | Comments (1)

August 1, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMAN MELVILLE

Posted by Jane on 8:30 AM | Comments (1)