June 6, 2013

Outside Albany

The clouds hang in suspension
As we the train riders
Rotate around it
And it floats untouched by man
White on white
Grey shadows
Cottony 
While the green 
Blurs in horizontal lines
The clearings come and go
Showing farmland
Rivers
Rundown factories
Outside Albany
The flowers are blooming
Violets and tiger lilys 
The goslings grow more daring by the day
As the remnants of spring hang on for dear life
The trees are prostrated east
As the tropical storm 3,000 miles away
Whips the forceable wind 
Along the Hudson. 
I always needed luck
To prodigiously descend
And set me free
From the surly bonds of debt
The cripple of routine
Of listlessness
I cried out in frustration
That I could do no more, it would seem
To change this spiral of water-treading
This whole rationale:
That my efforts are exhausted
That there just isn't any room on my shelves
Is so profoundly off-base
So laughable
"If only I had money, my Little Bird"
- Malaika -
"I would marry you"
Well, you climb a few mountains
Order food in a different language
And pray and pray
And pray and pray
And pray and pray
Until suddenly you know
That somewhere
Outside Albany
The suspended clouds
The clearings, the tiger lilys
And the beating heart inside me
Can handle everything 
And anything
You've got in store for me. 
 

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