New York

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

September 4, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

learning new things
talking to new people

just because i
stepped out of my house yesterday

[and yes, i could have/should have
been doing many chores on my
forever growing to do list, but
hey, i fell a little more in love with
this city and its people and
nerds in general, and i love being
able to just go to a thing i know
almost nothing about and make
friends and learn so so so much]

[that’s what living in
nyc is all about, right?]

August 17, 2026

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hike the paths deep into the woods
[after you’ve exited deep out of the parking lot]
and come upon a little village
always here
but only open part-time
of historical and fantastical
and magical and mystical
and sometimes [often] a bit [a lot] silly

the New York Renaissance Faire

there are countless [though i’m sure they’ve all been counted]
shops
and eateries
and stages
and shows
all boasting this as their home
[even if it only lasts from mid-august to
the very tip of october]

a beautiful place
an overwhelming event
a wonderful community
and a time to be had

by all
who want it
by all
who need it
by all

July 19, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the only thing i looked up
in terms of the world cup
was what day it
ends

that’s today!
that’s today!

i won’t have to deal with my
city, my
commute, my
life
being interrupted
anymore
after today

[and i made sure today was a day
i stayed the fuck at home anyway]

good riddance to these hassles

and good riddance to the idea
that people would come into this country
as it slides down its slippery slope to abject fascism

i hope it was boycotted to the point of abject failure

[i sure know i’d never pay $93 to take a bus to jersey]

*side note: at least those who did travel, met american citizens in these cities
who showed our allegiance is not with the current administration,
and perhaps world relations are bettering in some ways

which i suppose is part of the point of the world cup

ugh…

May 4, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

kip
going out
doing things
meeting for dinners and
going to networking events
in the city

and me
going out
doing things
running friends around and
socializing and working outside of the house
going into [and out of] the city

we’re acting like
a couple of new yorkers!

[it only took the looming threat
of a move
and/or unemployment
to get us here]

February 22, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the coffee
is spicy
today

[and by spicy
i mean strong
pretty
darn
strong]

and we actually went out
last night
[though not to “night life”
but to a show
an important show
a beautiful show]

and spoke
with friends old and new
afterwards

it was lovely
but now it’s morning
and i have things i have to do

[and kip has sleep
they never
get]

so i’m drinking this
spicy/strong coffee
to try to just get up and go and do

[and it just started snowing
i hate the cold, but
it’s beautiful]

July 13, 2025

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i never, ever thought i would identify
so strongly with a place

but my heart
leaps
at being called “a New Yorker”
and i can’t help but write
countless poems about
the place
and the people
and the identity

and my heart beats harder
and my anxiety lulls softer
when anywhere that reminds me
of my chosen home

[would i still feel like a New Yorker
if we fled to Paris
for safety?]

July 12, 2025 [part 2]

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while we didn’t fall in love with Lisbon
like we thought we might

we definitely fell in love with Europe
and the fact that people here
seem to be a little bit more functional/
the democracies around here
definitely are more functional
than the shitshow we left
and are now approaching back

and Paris
the surprise contender
from least likely
to most
in our future endeavors

[is it just that we fall in love with
anything
that reminds us of New York?]

[is that the moral of this whole experience?]

July 3, 2025

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i still can’t get over
how much this city,
though so different
from my concrete jungle,
can remind me so much
of home

from the pigeons
and mourning doves
and stray cats
everywhere

to the instances of
so many different
languages being spoken
and written down

to its walkability
and metro system,
even the tourist traps
are cute reminders
of my home’s downtown

[feeling at home
even in a foreign city —
the story of new yorkers abroad]