Well I can see you now
you are hurrying along the street
head down in order to not miss
any great event on the pavement    you are
about to make a visit to somebody’s life
Peter and Elka’s     where the children
will welcome you with bread and strawberries
they fly to a proper distance
nibbling rye crumbs by the healthy ton
sighing in Russian and singing in German

Then you will extricate yourself
from the richness of kitchens and family
and cross town again because it’s so early
the summer’s first light hot hand 
has made you feverish for encounter in air
at least by open window    so now the sixth floor
overlooking Bedford Street    the open lot
that will not become the Broome Street Expressway

Because of this political victory and the birth
of a child there is a plan being made 
in that small apartment
	   TO BE GOOD AND HAPPY FOREVER
The fact is   this can be successful
if it starts late enough in life