Williamsburg is Hudson Yards, BlackRock is at Burning Man, Citibank Sponsors Pride, & Landlords Just Don't Seem to Die
by Lily Lady Cook

the best view of the city is from the top of the wonder wheel at coney island, where god sleeps
on a boardwalk bench and locals sell blue raspberry spiked slushies after dusk.
from the top of the wonder wheel you forget that bushwick summers in east hampton now,
the underground decamped, the 24 hour club is a walgreens, the punks closed their gauges
& bought up hudson valley.
from the top of the wonder wheel there are no suits with unlimiteds who still won't share
metrocard swipes, no undercover cops grabbing teenagers at whole foods, no scam brokers,
no fake airbnb listings.
from the top of the wonder wheel you see god on the boardwalk bench stir, look up,
mouth the words default on your student loans and buy a new face on credit.
you want to ask for clarification but even the wonder wheel has to end,
has to lurch forward
and toss you back

. . . .to the $35 yoga classes where the teacher wears a future is female shirt,
  coffee shops where five different people read brand-new copies of infinite jest,
     rows of bars where the bouncers are all ex-pd.

the cast from 'kids' still haunts south slope, wanting to talk about the glory days of skate,
how larry clark said they were all gonna be stars. no one told them supreme isn't cool anymore &
god stopped breathing on the coney island boardwalk.

ridgewood still has basements but you don't understand why everyone likes whippets again.

  you go home before midnight    do not pass go   do not collect $200.

a pregnant rat gives birth on the subway track and raises a family before the g train arrives

& just like that
you're in love again.

Lily Lady Cook is a writer living in New York City. Her work has been most recently published by House of Theodora Press, b l u s h, and PanPan Press. In her free time she watches baseball and does crosswords.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.