Monday, October 17, 2011

Bright Lights, Big City

Written and recalled for Magpie Tales:

Uptown, Midtown, Downtown, Chinatown...

Twenty-two years old, exploring alien world of concrete and skyscrapers, eyes drawn upward, jaw agape and dragging on the sidewalk.  I smell the exhaust of a thousand taxis, the acrid odor of burnt pretzels from the corner vendor, the sour steam rising through sidewalk grates from unseen subterranean passages. Getting the grand tour today from city-savvy friends--Penn Station, Broadway, top of the World, dinner in Chinatown. We take the subway to Canal Street, north lies Little Italy: south, we step into another country—bright little shops with neon signs boasting their wares in strokes and symbols. As we pass by one I pause and stare, amazed to see whole birds, plucked, smoked and ready for purchase, not neatly cut and packaged like in the supermarkets I am used to.
February 1978, New York City --"Toto, we're not in Vermont anymore!"

©  Ginny Brannan October 2011
 Photo courtesy Tess Kincaid for Magpie Tales            
Shared at Magpie Tales: http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

This photo reminded me of my first trip into NYC with some of my friends. I was assaulted with sights, sounds and smells the likes of which I had never witnessed before. To this day I remember the total amazement of it all!

    

14 comments:

  1. An exotic world within a world. Lovely piece.

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  2. Nice one Ginny. Love your mention of the city smells - they really can be overwhelming. That was a very effective way to really bring the reader right there.

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  3. Really cool ... the way you have sparked our own memories of new, strange places.

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  4. no we are not...i remember my first trip to NYC in high school from my small town...wow eyes were opened...

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  5. Greetings from a fellow New England-type blogger...

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  6. @ Martin, NYC itself IS definitely an exotic world!
    @ Mary, been to NYC many times since. The smells, the noise, the hustle and bustle still reach out and grab me each time!
    @ Kathy, Helen and Doctor FTSE, thank you so much for your comments!
    @ Brian, yeah I was totally the typical tourist the first time in, having grown up and lived in small towns. Learned over time it's best not to be so obvious!!
    @ Berowne, hey there fellow New Englander, thanks for stopping by! I've lived in VT, NH and on L.I., and am settled now in Western MA just a wee bit north of you!

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  7. Love this...you take us on a journey of sights, sounds and smells...

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  8. A wistful remembrance full of nostalgia and the wide-eyed wonder of youth. Beautiful take on this image.

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Thank you for reading my poetry and sharing your thoughts.