View from the terrace of the family's Brooklyn Heights apartment

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Garibaldi in the Park

Garibaldi despises pigeons
rats with wings he calls them
       and what would you think of pests
       who dawdle, primp and poop
on your signature poncho in bronze?
Garibaldi no longer minds the tired joke
now told by twelvish girls
       that he always draws his sword
       whenever a virgin passes by
cute, he finds them, and disarming
Garibaldi has heard rumors:
after banishing buskers, canines, and chess
       a new Moses will flatten the arch 
       and pave-over the fountain
to make way for a bus terminal and heliport
Garibaldi has enjoyed it all:
militia musters, urban troubadours, beats
       the old paisano plucking his quiet mandolin
       up-scale bohemians, joggers, jazz fests
sweet toddlers splashing in their underpants

Garibaldi has a plan:
when the bulldozers come for him
       he will at long last 
       draw his doughty sword
to deliver one final clanging stroke
for the lackluster denizens of his park.

1 comment:

  1. Washington Square Park is one of my favorite spots in Manhattan! Just wanted to see how this works!

    ReplyDelete

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