The sky is dark,

Times Square is lit.

I am looking at the lights from a distance.

I see a million colors swirl around

on flashing billboards.

The lights give life

to each and every skyscraper.

From far away, New York City is a beautiful place

perhaps it has even more beauty than space.
But as I near it,

I am baffled.

Baffled by its ugliness,

its stench,

its poverty.

I try to take it all in.

Trudging taxis travel,

honking horns make a hoot.

There is trash on the streets, and

homeless people beg for money on every corner.

Repulsive odors emit from haunted sewers.

I hear people cursing, shouting.

They boil with anger!

Is this really the city I hear people raving about worldwide?

This is the Big Apple, the

One and Only

New York City?

I wonder how anybody could possibly find this whirlwind of negativity appealing.