1964 Poem by Jim Boone

Love lifted me from its field in
the heart of Dallas, Texas to the
sidewalks of New York in 1964
with a chartered flight the good
old American way to a World’s
Fair that kept Flushing my senses
until I found Broadway, the East
And West Side, uptown and down

Hello Dolly - h e l l o wonderful
adventures - it was so nice to be
where I belonged, even when a
Funny Girl on an unfunny day,
tossed my chums and I from her
dressing room, and I still love her
one voice today.

A policeman’s horse stepped on my
foot, as I waited for Elizabeth and
Richard; bodies pressed against me,
with no intent, as the Beatles arrived
and sang

What made Sammy run? Who was
that Golden Boy? Why wasn’t the
Price Right for me?

Hello friend for life; let’s hear Laney
one more time. Trudy Heller’s not
quite my cup, and hers runeth over.

Grafton brought shoppers and I just
didn’t know, or was afraid to, while
delaying the friendliest thing two
people could do, but not for a fee.

From the tunnel under the Ed Sullivan
Theater, through Central Park, to the
steam and hands of a Village bath house:
The eyes of Texas were upon me, Paul
and Joanne lived across 3rd Avenue, New
Yorkers reached, cuzin Pat got his white
Bucks dirty, and a taxi bound for Texas
took me away.
1966

note: There are many stories within this one poem. jb
Jim Boone, US Poet Laureate Nominee 2012