
“Abstract Manhattan” by Brian Carter
metropolis sculpted
from granite ambitions
each skyscraping statue
erect in its embrace by
an armature of commerce
deep mercantile canyons
their enterprise shimmers
in swift racing glide on
the grain of two rivers
converged at the battery
southernmost outpost
of free aspirations
here history found him
and gave his sharp mind
clever means to discover
and climb secret paths
from the sun deprived
pall of collective endeavor
attaining a rarefied place
among peaks of the skyline
enlightened and warmed
by his own private sun