NEW YORK CITY

The people of New York are the salt of the earth
They are God's People

I love their warmth
Their unabashed affections
Their kisses and their hugs
Their understanding of unspoken words
And their good natured humor and and their laughter

I love their raucousness
Their brashness and rudeness
And their loudness and impatience

The blaring of their horns
In crowded streets
Is music to my ears

Oh New York
I miss your stately buildings
Towers that reach up to the heavens
Multitudes of varied hued peoples
And dialects unintelligible to my ears
And the sweet sound
Of East Coast accented speech

New York
I am your prodigal son
Each time that I return to you
I feel the welcome embrace
Of your maternal arms
I know your tears of sadness
For my absence
As you know mine

New York
There is only YOU
All else is Exile

New York
You are the Shining City Built On A Hill
A beacon for all humanity
You are Jerusalem
You are Athens
You are Rome
You are Empire

As once men gave to Caesar
That which was Caesar's
Today and tomorrow
They will render unto you
That which is yours

All things
All peoples
All rivers
Flow unto you

And you receive them in your embrace

Great Gotham
It is sealed upon your harbor
That you receive
The tired and the poor
The huddled masses of the world
Nestled against your bosom
You gather them in
You incorporate them
You assimilate them
You make them your own

You are as a voluptuous woman
And I am your secret, sad lover

New York
You are a harsh and cruel lover
A black widow spider
Slaying those who
love you
And casting them out
Those tired and poor
The huddled masses
For whom you show no pity
The promise scripted in your harbor
Now mere empty, hollow words

New York
You are invincible
You have been wounded
And humbled
By devils from Hell
Who took the form of men
And flung missiles
Of hatred at you

Yet you survived
You are indestructible
Long after
The metropolises of the world are gone
You will remain

When the earth has had its way with you
When the waves have buried you
When the ice has covered you
You will remain -
Splendidly
In suspended animation
Timeless
Infinite
Eternal

New York
Mother and Lover
Whore and Goddess

My City by the Sea
I hear your voice forever

"Do not forget me
Do not forget
Oh City of my youth
Which gave me birth"

I am yours
Forever!