Taxi Cab Roses

1,873 UNUSUAL WEDDING RINGS

HERMAN ROTENBERG

How rude can they get

On my red heart Valentine’s day!?

Their business card advertisement

A little bit of nerve

In my taxi cab car

Dead roses line the seats

The floor

The love that turned to hatred

The love that left the open cab door

And the jazz that made it flow from

Cab driver to cab driver

Alone

Lost

Not knowing which way to go

To find the unusual ring

Where to cleanse thyself of the sins

I have committed today

Not realizing the ones, I did not admit

All year

All life

About the big one in Times Square

About the bar ones

The rented ones

The video-taped ones

My love is gone

My love that I had

Its dead as a rose

On this pouring rain

Valentine Card

Soaked with salty tears

And semen

Never afraid to cry

And forget the schools that taught so well

The Fall leaves

Of red, orange, brown, and rust

The bearded men

And a few dogs

It’s not about fertility

About the dead roses

In my taxi

My cab

My New York City

Where is Herman now?

Is he married?

Why not seventy-four?

© 1999 David Greg Harth

99.02.15.03.20:26 @ 9th @ 72nd/57th/42nd/34th/23rd/14th/4th/296 NYC