Subway system
R N Q W
or
A B C D
or maybe even F
but it’s closed for repair
the day I go to Brooklyn
so take D
and change at 14th
for the L
to Jefferson
then walk 230 metres
along Troutman Street
(but left or right from
the subway?)
There’s Uptown
or
Downtown
big decisions
when you are
a geographic dyslexic
(the buses say
Crosstown but I don’t
dare catch them)
Exiting is fraught
NE, SW, how do
I know, it’s underground
and I need to see the sun:
it’s a hundred to one
I’ll take the wrong stairs
57th Street subway
R Bay Ridge
13 stops (count them)
Whitehall Station
destination
(walk 320 metres)
Battery Park …
A system is efficient
when you know how
to use it but every day
at sea with directions
that mean nil to me
and feeling sweet relief
when I pop up
in a recognisable context
I’m well prepared
to understand (in part)
the gratitude immigrants felt
at seeing Madame Liberty
as I look at her from
the certainty
of my CityPASS ferry.
– Catherine Skipper
