Aesthetic Realism Looks at New York City: Poetry
Ellen Reiss
July Is Relevantly Busy
The pavements of upper Manhattan have dust,
And fruitstands close to the streets,
And it is noon so the fruit ripens rapidly.
Children playing in the street shout
Clattering syllables which crash against the buildings
And echo.
It is noon, so
The golden flesh of mangoes and apricots turns
deeper gold.
They are soft inside the wooden crates.
They are bruised and soft against the wooden crates.
A child,
Chasing a ball along the gutter,
Falls, and scrapes his skin.
And his blood is warm against the dusty sidewalk.
It is noon.
The sun is a ripe yellow fruit.
From Definition, No.10 (New York: Definition Press,1961)