On the day I gained certainty that I was
\nA spirit, the subway went up
\nLexington Avenue as it had always done.
\nDown on Seventh Avenue the
\nMen still pushed their carts
\nWith bolts of cotton and silk.
\nThe cross town bus still did its
\nRoute on 42nd Street.
\nThe mannequins
\nIn Macy\u2019s window nearby stood still
\nStiffly still as they had always done.
\nThe train to Boston pulled out
\nOf Grand Central Station. Several
\nCouples fell in love that day in Central Park.
\nA twelve year old boy found out
\nAbout Walk Whitman in the main
\nPublic Library at Fifth Avenue
\nAnd 42nd Street.
\nBig ocean liners were docked
\nIn the harbour on the West Side.
\nA young man sweetly played
\nHis violin on the corner of
\n42nd and 8th Avenue.
\nThe Staten Island ferry moved
\nAway from the dock. The diamond
\nDealer intently eyed a gem
\nThrough his glass on 47th Street
\nAs he had done for generations.
\nUptown on West 86th Street
\nNear Broadway a sweet old
\nWoman sighed deeply
\nAnd smiled and breathed
\nHer last breath. A boy child
\nWas born in Brooklyn.
\nThe taxi drivers weaved
\nBetween the lanes.
\nSomebody ordered a large
\nCoffee regular, hold the sugar.
\nThree teenage boys sang
\nA cappella at the corner
\nOf Willis Avenue and
\n143rd Street in the South
\nBronx. A crowd gathered,
\nThey were magnificent.
\nIn my world all
\nWas still. Everything.
\nAround me was pervaded
\nWith a calm I do not
\nRemember ever having experienced.
\nI felt a love for everyone I
\nSaw no matter who they were.
\nI was astounded by
\nBeauty all around me
\nThough it was the same
\n32nd Street, the same
\nBroadway on which I had
\nAlways walked.
\nI felt a kindness,
\nA compassion,
\nA tolerance, an openness,
\nA hope, a confidence unlike
\nAnything I had ever known.
\nAnd I knew that everything
\nWas going to be alright, that
\nAll would be well, that
\nI was ok and that I
\nWould continue to be ok.
\nOn the day that I gained
\nCertainty that I was
\nA Spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the day I gained certainty that I was A spirit, the subway went up Lexington Avenue as it had always done. Down on Seventh Avenue the Men still pushed their carts With bolts of cotton and silk. The cross town bus still did its Route on 42nd Street. The mannequins In Macy\u2019s window nearby … <\/p>\n