No Orange in the Big Apple

December winds whipping through Manhatten

Shops and stores busy with holiday traffic

Twisted lines of customers form growing tails

To the newsstands and food carts along the way

Traffic on the avenues and streets, congested

Crowds spill from Times Square to the sidewalks

NYPD, bicycles, dog-walkers, and panhandlers

Just another day in the Big Apple

Trucks on Broadway trying to make up time

Cab drivers in their usual weave, passing and speeding

Yellow Taxi, White delivery truck, black limousine

SUV’s of silver, black, grey, and white

Parked along the borders of the Financial district

Every corner has its own crowd of unique people

Walk a block and reshuffle the deck

Overcoats and hats, scarves and mittens

Bundled people bury their heads in fabric

A few turn to look as flashing lights pass by

Black wool, fleece, and nylon all around

But nowhere is any orange to be found

Darkened colors here, there, and everywhere

Buildings in brick or painted black or grey

Darkened concrete, blackened metal entranceways

Even the neon lights and signs in Time Square

No sighting of orange found anywhere

Occasional red catches the roaming eye

An elegant lady seems to glide on by

My searching takes me north and south

Wandering the streets with my camera ready

Hardhatted workers emerge from construction sites

Trash bags piled high in matching black sacks

Chain link fences securing empty lots

Restaurant signs welcoming everyone in

Drinks will flow and merry will be made

And yet the mystery continues in my mind

In the city that legend says never sleeps

Where everything and anything goes, and does

Why I can’t seem to find consensus I don’t know

No orange seems to be the common thread

Certainly I must be thinking wrong

Perhaps it’s been hiding all along

Its where I’ve been looking that’s steered me wrong

The color orange, it hasn’t fled

It’s clear as day – detour ahead!

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R J Schwartz

I write about everything and sometimes nothing at all.I'm fascinated by old things, rusty things, abandoned places, or anywhere that a secret might be unearthed.I'm passionate about history and many of my pieces are anchored in one concept of time or another.I've always been a writer, dating back to my youth, but the last decade has been a time of growth for me.I'm continually pushing the limitations of vocabulary, syntax, and descriptive phrasing.

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