New Yorkers 101: It's A Jungle Out There

 

Sometimes like predators, sometimes like prey,

   We prowl your jungle of planned avenues
To serve some God or just survive the day,
   And learn to triage what we cannot choose.
Your wilderness becomes a winding trail
   Carved by the machete of our career.
We know that you’ll forsake us if we fail
   Or eat us up if we show signs of fear.
So we walk tall, with purpose in our faces,
   Hoping our next mistake won’t be our last,
Mapping your traps till they’re familiar places,
   Praying our future can redeem our past,
      And wondering a hundred times a day:
      Am I the predator now?  Or the prey?




Copyright 2014 Matthew J Wells