January In New York Poem by Erica Jong

January In New York

Rating: 3.4


Black ship of night
sailing through the world
& the moon an orange slice
tangy to the teeth
of lovers who lie
under it,
sucking it.

Somewhere there are palm trees;
somewhere the sea
bluely gathers itself up
& lets itself fall again
into green;
somewhere the spangles
of light on the ocean
dazzle the eyes;
but here in the midnight city,
the black ship of night
has docked
for a long, dark stay,
& even the citrus moon
with its pockets of juice
cannot sweeten the dark.

Then the snow begins,
whirling over the Pole,
gathering force over Canada,
sprinkling the Great Lakes with sugar
which drowns in their deep black cups;
it is drawn to the spires of New York
& the flurries come
scampering at first,
lighthearted, crystalline, white,
but finally
sucked into the city
as into a black hole
in space.

The sky is suddenly pink-
pink as flesh: breasts,
babies' bottoms. Night is
day; day is whiter than the desert;
the city stops like a heart;
pigeons dip & veer
& come to rest
under the snow-hatted
watertanks.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Gregory Vest 05 January 2016

I love the imagery. Gives life to the event in my mind.

3 0 Reply
Abderrahmane Dakir 05 January 2016

I like your description so deeply in this poem. Thank you for sharing.

2 0 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 05 January 2016

This is what New York is during the month of January. Very nice. Loved it.

2 0 Reply
Ratnakar Mandlik 05 January 2016

Beautiful poem with wonderful description of nature during January prevailing at New York.Thanks for sharing.10 points.

1 0 Reply
Manonton Dalan 05 January 2016

January I am waiting for snow a real deep snow.... beautiful poem

0 0 Reply
Susan Williams 05 January 2016

Erica Jong certainly has a way with words and creating an unforgettable atmosphere with them. There are so many descriptive phrases that stir our imagination but I enjoyed the most the simple.... snow-hatted watertanks.

28 0 Reply
Kim Barney 05 January 2016

Exactly what New York City is like in January. Beautiful descriptions! Thanks.

3 0 Reply
Pranab K Chakraborty 05 January 2016

Night is day; day is whiter than the desert; the city stops like a heart; ..............Nice.

1 0 Reply
M Asim Nehal 05 January 2016

Now I can say I visited New York.....Thanks for sharing such a wonderful poem...

2 0 Reply
Erica Jong

Erica Jong

New York City
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