You had to be there.
And I was, saw the whole city,
its vehicles and animals
perpetually under the weather, yes,
the place was sick at heart. Greed,
corruption, no wonder
we went under. Still, I miss
that city, its cramped excuses, its low sky
like a reason for a fever.
Living in that city, it was like you had a fever
always. Tossing, turning,
pillar to post, always something new to see,
always some new lover around the corner.
Where I came from, that wasn’t just sorrow,
it was reason itself, to keep your head up.
Nathaniel Rosenthalis is the author of theree full-length collections of poetry, including Works and Days and The Leniad, both out with Broken Sleep Books. He is a singer, actor, and teacher who lives in NYC and teaches at NYU.
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