Creative Writing: Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park (9/9/17)

From his apartment building on 285 Lafayette Street, Mr. Bowie was in walking distance of many of his favorite neighborhood haunts. Topping his list, according to The Independent, was Washington Square Park. He wrote of the park in a 2003 essay for New York magazine: “It’s the emotional history of New York in a quick walk.” Walking in general (the earlier in the day the better) was a preferred way for Mr. Bowie to experience city life. “The signature of the city changes shape and is fleshed out as more and more people commit to the street,” Mr. Bowie wrote. “A magical transfer of power from the architectural to the human.” --New York Times

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
(in the style of Frank O'Hara)
by Jade Herbert

There is no need for headphones here
Applause! The echo of a banjo's strings --
Now a jaunty saxophone holds a tête-à-tête with rushing water
(A fountain rests in the center of it all).
I look around and
Witness balloon animal creations communing with the psychic's wizard hat
While the church's cross humbly interrupts the sky
By the Freedom Tower's spire.
Lo! I hear a play in the park -- a full-fledged musical with
a lone piano under an arch (Is that Philip Glass?)
And there is a man doing handstands on top of
the world (or at least the piano) before a dancer joins them,
all in black, swaying to the music.
But these sounds are mere embellishments - accoutrements - accenting the
Rhythmic chatter.  Pounding footsteps.  Honking horns -- a dull roar of traffic
That the multitudes of people instinctively
Harmonize
With one another.
The city is alive, and you can hear it.
There is no use for headphones here
with artificial noise from teeny tiny speakers
Blasting in your ears.  It is hollow.
They deafen the soul of the people
I do not wish to mute its song.