falling in love with the city

September 11, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

first time feeling like the attacks were an affront to
My
city

not to the country as a whole that everyone says i should claim
but i’m still not so certain

and it has to do with
time
community
and electing a mayor i’m so proud to have represent us

in all events

yes, even/especially at happenings for memorials and things
tonight

so fuck your anti-Muslim sentiments
because if we can’t all be americans
we can at least all be New Yorkers

i know this

and i’ll wear that badge of honor everywhere

June 15, 2021

/ HJ / Leave a comment

figuring out our foundations;
both of us grew up
just outside of a suburban border
(not quite country)
and staying in green
with bugs
and wildlife
and stars and sky
feels so good

but also,
after a year and a half in The City
(The City that Never Sleeps, The Big Apple, The Greatest City in the World)
we can’t imagine living anywhere else.
we would miss the convenience of walking to get everywhere,
an actually useful public transportation system,
the resilience of all the people,
observing those completely unlike you
(and seeing dozens of people exactly like you,
no matter how unique you think you are)

(how quickly New York steals your heart)

October 7, 2020 [part 2]

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i seem to be falling in love with this city
its bright lights of harsh daylight
and soft hues of glaring night

i am still an introvert in the world of countless people
but most of them seem to view ‘people’ the same way i do
so we mutually ignore each other

and yet

if protests and marches and keeping up with the roots of the grass
has taught me anything
it’s that we also have an eye out for each other;
we keep us safe
in these streets, our streets
and my love for this city
never would have reached these levels
had it not been for the community i’ve watched
grow.