Poems 3

MIDNIGHT IN MANHATTAN
Moonglow over Iridium
Irradiates the night
As saxes saunter through the city streets
And slice the sacrificial sky

Trombones and trumpets educe a trance
And meander through the mist
Enhanced by the weary wail of a subway stopping
Lost in the laughs of the lounge

A piano punches around an ally
And the drums drift downtown
Harmonies haunting riders on the river
They waft within the waves

A legend puffs the butt of a cigarette
Its ember lazily burning back
The smoke rises to combine in a cloud
Pierced only by the jazz in the night

The breeze brushes by the bricks
And lingers to listen and lament
The viscous voice and wispy words
Prophesize of classics from times past

The moonglow over Iridium
Irradiates the night
As symphonies saunter through the city streets
And like the morning mists, fade  with the light

***

PHOENIX
Another one goes down

As the sun sets beneath the desert
Bequeaths a peril upon the sand
A night so frigid, sunlight banned
The righteous make a frightened stand

But alone they face their fate beyond
As alone they defy eternal bonds
They cry out in silence to no response
So deeply entombed, profoundly ensconced

Illusions abound, as reality's unwound
As disillusioned they appeal to the Lord
Their appeals all repealed, their prayers all ignored
For He's another illusion, faith unrestored

And further they fall, forgetting it all
For there's a beautiful squall
Haunting scrawl on the wall
And a kaleidoscope map with which they're enthralled

And though the Lord's answered their unintentional prayers
From anonymous men with faith undeclared
They reel from the pain of morning's frightening flare
The revitalizing rite of the flare, they're unaware

But the sun it soon rises, and black becomes blue
As reflections of desert mirror off morning dew
And with light in their eyes, they bow in the pew
Like a Phoenix reborn, arising anew

And another one lives again

***

~2,986~
FOR ALL OF THEM
A kingdom falls to burning as
As voices fade from life,
Tears drop on the eternal flame;
Souls ascend with lights enshrined.

There's a saber stabbing my eyes,
Its hilt glaring down.
There's an ironic halo on the horizon,
Memorializing heroes.

There's an endless rippling
Of that dark blue abyss below.
Sparkles glittering along the surface drift by
As we soar high.

High above Her spire
Raised in defiant might,
Raised in gentle motherly care,
Raised in pride above the city beyond

Above the A-Train that squeals through the fog.
Somewhere, Mack the Knife is hiding out,
And the piano queues that Rhapsody in blue
As taxis recite their eternal song.

But now the canyon closes in,
The East River our only guide.
Long Island has long since gone,
The mansions of Suffolk and Nassau,
The ravaged streets of Brooklyn and Queens.
The Sound is left behind,
And now, Beyond the Sea,
In the Wonderful World we dream of,
The Towers loom high...

***

AS KINGS DEPART
Lady Liberty underneath the moon
Talks of freedom in the afternoon
Remembers heroes, remembers lost platoons
And Cold Harbor's blood in early June

His spire overlooks the Mall
The flowers, the tears that streak the Wall
The men of stone through the fog at dawn
Forever haunting on the lawn

An unknown soldier with unknown scars
Returning home with a heavy heart
A reverent duty, he remains on guard
Atop hills afar, as kings depart

Autumn leaves over Healy Hall
Dumbarton Oaks survives an August squall
The Potomac winds through endless time
As its Army dreams that holy hymn

Lincoln's eyes, ice stone cool
Drop tears in the Reflecting Pool
As beyond esteemed and honored tombs
The Cherry Blossoms bloom

***

A STAIN ON THE CREST
From metal to flesh
In a chamber to confess
A figure fades to the floor
A puddle of red
Feeding brooks as it spreads
Staining tile, immaculate no more

The moonglow seeps through
Stained-glass Saints weep for the truth
Streaks the Crucifix in eerie flashes of blood
The Stations of the Cross look around
Is this a palace or a slum
When the bells toll over sinister sounds?

With eyes on the Vatican's crest
Lucifer's agents Sacramentally blessed
Archangel Gabriel, inform us
Archangel Michael, protect us
Archangel Rafael, heal us
Of this gild that's beginning to rust

From the alter to the pew
In a robe worn by few
A phantom fades through the door
A puddle of red
Feeding brooks as it spreads
Staining tile, Hold no more

***

ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
Come, capture the essence
I'll be your guide; I'll take you on a trip
In the grainy picture of '32
Let's make our way through it

A panoramic crown of diamonds in the night
That majestic beacon of Liberty pierced upon the sky
From Staten Island to the Brooklyn Heights
Under gleaming stars, tonight divine

There's picket fences in Richmondtown
Where crickets and pheasants sound
But when a Buick saunters across the Brooklyn Bridge
The blood will run through the city

Pan, past Jamaica Bay
Past Rockaway's shore
Through allyways
Now queue the score

As strings stroll the streets of Queens
And the brass blows with the breeze
These harmonies chase the American Dream
From Astoria to Atlantic Beach

There's  wounded avenues in Flushing
Where blasted bricks hide bootleg bars
But in Manhasset, mansions rise
Through gilded emerald skies

Cut, cross the tranquil moonlit Sound
To cheering fans who crowd the stands beneath the gameday lights
Pass backlit buildings, steamy streets, and silent statues; through autumn leaves
An oasis in a city asleep

Fade, back to the basics
Flash back to the bay
Slowly focus out
A panoramic crown of diamonds in the night
That majestic beacon of Liberty pierced upon the Northern Lights