manha-tan

before it was joy and glory and morning
the sound of the bells and the opening gates

it used to be blissful and gay and filled with the fury
of being
so much more than simply morning

that's how it used to be
every time I landed
in your hometown

now now now

as the bells tow
and tow and tow
they tow for me
lost and sick and scared
in cabs and east and west
in spite of you

they tow.
not because i'm dying
but because it will always be dawn
in manhattan
whether I survive. or not.
but manhantan manha-tan
manha-tantantantan
like you
and me

its broken

just the broken sound of some
mornings glued with invisible hiffens
to towing bells far far far faraway faraway

like me

and I

and you
and who
I was
in those blissful mornings