Mayfair Poem by Ernest Hilbert

Outside NOBU, a lone paparazzo.
No stars yet out tonight.
He wraps the camera strap
Like an archer's vambrace
To hold his Nikon in place.
Once a drummer rammed him:
They rolled on the pavement,
But no one got the shot.
Another time, a supermodel
Snapped a heel, stumbled,
Spilled her handbag on the street.
She fell on all fours, struggling
In her strapless dress to gather
Cylinders and silver cases.
Men formed a semicircle.
Flashes blazed, white like gunfire
Across her back. Her boyfriend laughed.
Tonight the photographer squats
Beside a man who begs for coins.
He watches the door, holds still, and waits.