New Yorkers

August 13, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

ten years ago we had just gotten married
and had delayed our honeymoon to take
while i had the opportunity to perform
in the new york city international fringe festival
and so we were here
ten years ago
in a summer heat wave
staying in a fancy hotel
in times square
two introverts
constantly overwhelmed
and at the end of that trip
ten years ago
we both agreed
that we did not like nyc
and would never
ever
ever live here

jokes on us ten years ago
because, over the last six and three quarters years
i have learned what it is to love
a place

because new york and new yorkers
have taught me so many things
about living and diversity and togetherness and community
and perseverance
and humor
and art

i don’t know what my life would be like living any other place
but i’m damn glad kip found parts of this city away from tourism hell
and we found our little pocket of nature and quiet in the middle of
the city that never sleeps, and i still get so excited
to go downtown and i still get so excited
to come back home and i still can’t believe
we live in this magical, dirty, weird, unique, and wonderful place
that ten years ago i hated so hard

i love it here

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…

July 3, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

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]

June 26, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

getting choked up
at rallies where we all chant
“we are New Yorkers”
to signify we won’t be beaten down
or give in
to fascism

literally tearing up
while reading the world’s responses
to our mayoral primary
“that’s my mayor”
in Cleveland
in Virginia
in New Zealand
in Europe

those damn tote bags were right —

don’t you dare call me an american
i’ve never had any
pride in my country

but don’t you dare forget
that i’m a New Yorker
and my chosen city
stands up for all our
beliefs

and when we get together on something
don’t you dare forget
what we can all accomplish
as New Yorkers
together

July 28, 2024

/ HJ / Leave a comment

spotted lantern flies
cursed our existence
outside
one year ago

this year there are still some
but they seem few
and far-between
and i’m hoping that means
that we as new yorkers
got together and destroyed
[/are still destroying]
an invasive species
that hurts our ecosystem.

as many faults as i can find with nyc
from living here for five years
that is one thing i gotta hand us —
when we have a task
to better our neighborhoods
that we can all get behind — we do it
and we do it
good.

September 28, 2021

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the very same day
i became a homeowner
in New York City
i portrayed the epitome
of a stereotypical New Yorker
(pizza in hand, honking my car’s horn unnecessarily,
driving in that way that only New Yorkers drive)
(although, if i were a real real New Yorker
i feel like i’d have
neither house
nor car,
so there is that…)

July 27, 2021

/ HJ / Leave a comment

if you are
barely over
five feet tall
and your short-legged stride
outpaces
all the New Yorkers around you
you may have a problem

however

if you are
barely over
five feet tall
and gay
and your short-legged stride
outpaces
all the New Yorkers around you
that’s just fine.