New York Skyscraper

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New York Skyscraper
By Paul Kloppenborg

Earth to stars, stone by stone
dry archipelago of boxes,
a vertical reproduction of the world
thrusts iron and copper arteries skyward
scattering the pedestrians at your feet.

People are consumed by shadow
the lobby is a womb to the street,
stacked promises and privacies
floor by floor, a landlocked lighthouse
flashing time through electric nerves
to the rivers on either side.

Beyond the block,
irresistible synthetic undeniably 'there',
steel frames rivet's invisible congestion
city within city, seething biology in glass,
smudges clouds and closes out the sun.

Between the platforms,
the density of fact nearer the moon,
windows fracture concrete lungs and reinforced light
towards the ocean and boat,
a layer of progress, a void.