Anna's Inkwell
Journal
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Pinstripes I raced behind; Jacob and Esau tugging to get there first. Weaving through crowds, dodging tuba and batons in hand, we worked up a frenzy of cellulose surprises waxing across the bright blue sky. Through canyon caves we peeked through to seal our spot amongst dreams; Time ticking away that stands so still, and we all held our breaths. As we stretched our visions beyond the gaping sky, Cruel fingers scratch the tenderness, on this day that paper borealis descends. Happiness, life, anticipation enwraps me With jolts of electric confetti. How can light ever reach down to this canyon made for a hero's stance? I aim at the twirling bird hovering above me, as all of these paper memories whitewashed in haste; Negatives exposed to the darkness of time. Yet those that enter through the gate of the soul, those will remain safe and hidden in my innermost chambers. Yes, I bask in the glory of swirling paperie, Faeries that dance across expanses forged by people and fire. I reach out to the one who is smiling at me and treasure forever the glimpse that was captured within. Yankees Parade, New York City, October 1998 |
Notes by the Author After the Yankees won the 1998 World Series, my brother and I decided that we would brave the crowds and join the minions on Broadway. I slipped out of my Soho Parenting Center job early (I was a "toddler teacher" then - and I left the tods to fend for themselves!) and was able to locate John amongst the chaos. We basically walked right into each other, and this was before we each owned cellphones. He grabbed me by the hand, and we weaved through the crowds. He was good at pushing people to clear the way; I was good at apologizing on the way through. Somehow we made it from the west side of Broadway behind the Twin Towers to the east side in front of the stock exchange. We finally got close enough, and with John's Nikon with the superduper zoom lenses, we took pictures of Bernie, Mariano, John Wetteland (yes, the guy with the grimy cap who went to the Rangers the following season), among others. There was definitely a lot of confetti, and the "twirling bird" I referred to in the poem was a helicopter that was hovering over us. "Jacob and Esau" was a biblical reference to our struggling to hold on to each other during our traipse in Lower Manhattan. "Negatives exposed to the darkness of time" refers literally to the fate of the roll of film in John's camera: my dad by mistake popped open the film loader and voila! the film was all exposed. Though we didn't have the pictures, we still have the memories, and this poem, to remember the experience by. In essence, this poem was more about the close relationship my brother and I had, than it was about the Yankees. A lot of the imagery from the parade I used as allegory to our relationship; I guess this is something that is hard to explain or comprehend unless you grew up knowing us well. |