Stories tall and city blocks wide

Stories on top of stories
stacked so high
the neck strains like a creaky crane
to see them

Stories on top of stories
the Mayor of Strawberry Fields
Peace and love and ten percent
play "Everybody must get stoned!"

The LES, where less was more
where people danced
because they wanted too
and pretty girls smiled
tainted roses from red light

we were all developing pictures
of a memory in chemical fog

And quiet
the Queensborough bridge on 58th
waiting for the green lights to fire
without luck

but feeling tranquility on the edge
of a brooding storm of activity
worth more than
any JPEG could ever show

So much to see

An island that beckoned my return
the moment she was shrouded
in the clouds

I witnessed much
but knew so little
I think there must be gems
on every block
unnoticed

Now home.
But still far away.