chagall backdrop

Perfect blue
that day

the earth shook,
rumbled steady roll

a subway leaving Chambers

heading for the Center
sky turned night
came down

debris
soft quiet
snowfall deserted

ancient Manhattan
the southern tip
where east meets west

at a point
where neither

is what it was

along gaslight streets
immigrants stroll
sing silent carols

forbidden hymns
for fallen angels

echo against the piers
the piles

and the quiet lapping
of the river, missing
the towering shade

© Carlos Chagall, 2013