Mary Shanley is a poet/storyteller living in New York City. She has published four

Bodegas All Sell Flowers

We don’t have many trees
in my neighborhood,
but the bodegas all sell flowers.
This engenders the illusion
that we are never too far from nature;
living in a cement city, with man-made
waterfalls rippling down the sides
of office buildings in mid-town.
A brief respite from crazy metropolis
energy and a passing illusory experience
that we aren’t far from an authentic way
of life; one crafted in the earth and imitated
in the city.

Flower boxes outside apartment windows
are almost like a flower bed, except it’s not.
People try to bring the earth’s beauty to city
dwellers.

But, when a breathtaking, golden sunset
reflects on Manhattan Island, the glow conjures
images as glorious as any painting hanging
in the Met.