Zuccotti Park

the sun is shining
temperatures are low
winter in new york city

clerks, traders, tourists, tramps
the sculpture double check
on the lunch break
on the dole
on the edge
of this stone desert
shiny granite blocks to sit on
shiny blocks to put sandwiches
chinese fast food, backpacks, bags, purses, mobiles on

no flowers yet
just shiny stones
filled with brushwood
greenish scrubs
no plastic cups, no wraps, no left-overs, no rubbish
anywhere

one block from the world phallus center
the old one
the hole one
the holes called memorial pools
the new one called one world phallus center

the one to build up
with safety
in safety
to ensure safety
banking security
with dead certainty
it will reach out for the sky
again

shadowing zucotti park
again
like on 9/11
when debris and ashes
covered the shanks
of this granite island
between broadway, trinity place, cedar street and liberty street

born in 1968
under the name liberty plaza park
of united states steel

reborn in 2006
of brookfield office properties
renamed zucotti park

the properties dropped the liberty
to name drop
to call the park after their chairman john e. zuccotti

the one percent
named and renamed
their private park for public use
their stone desert

radiating
below stones
between stones
only
when it´s sunlit
otherwise it´s dreary
except for two months
long after the name-dropping

in September 2011
people fell upon the park
brought banners, bedrolls
tarps, tents
kitchens
music
peaceful barricades
a library

to stay
for a spring
in fall

arab spring technique
no violence
safety for all participants
promised earlier by an anonymous call

there it was
liberty again
light

bands played
people discussed
embraced
orated
laptops sat on granite blocks
protest buttons were spread out
food for thought
food was served
around
beside
bronze man double check

people
people
people came
unrolled their banners
stretched their bedding
covered the adamant stones
haydayed
hay dated
hydrated

fall became spring
a sit-in
a sleep-in
a wake-up call
to remind the one percent
of them
their fears, pains, wishes, longings and love
their existence

99 percent as one
addressed one
protesting for justice, jobs, equality
against greed, corruption, poverty
environmental devastation

the #ows
called
for a better society
a global change
an ethic of commons
a world that dignifies it´s occupiers

99 percent as one
addressed one
for a  change of thinking
for a change of things
for worldwide humanity

they called for more
action
asambleas
on streets, in corners, in backyards, in homes
everyplace

to go against conspiracies
between politicians, police and properties
businessmen and businessmen
to break their shady dealings
peacefully
to build upon the demolition debris
a new society

utopia
maybe
the no place
the impossible according to judith butler

impossible demands
they demanded them
within a spring in fall
on the edge
of this stone desert
once again
called liberty plaza park

within a timeframe
a frame with a prospect
single frames
with unspoiled sights
together
they were true

in october the properties called their buddy
the mayor of new york
together
they uttered
their concerns
about the cleanness of the park
“it has not been cleaned since friday, september 16th, and as a result, sanitary conditions have reached unacceptable levels”

oh, ah, öh

the ows yawned
they sat-in
they slept-in
gave their wake-up calls
as usual
that spring

a girl tied a fresh bandana
around double check´s eyes
the sculpture
cast by a one percenter´s grandson
an uncle of a one percenter´s filmmaker

john s. johnson II ceded his artwork
to merrill lynch
in the eighties
to posh up liberty plaza park

no need for double check
that spring
in fall
the bandana girl knows
no need for control
heteronomy
external schedules

her formula is:
we
her heyday is:
now
her beauty
her blooming

the beauty
the blooming
of the actual liberty park

on november 15th
this beauty was spoiled
this blooming was blight
the nypd wiped the ows out
cleared
cleaned the park

for the tramps, clerks, tourists, traders
the bronze double check
of today

done with liberty
back to john e. again

doesn´t it look arcadian
so spick and span
unshaded
shiny granite blocks
under sunny skies
despite winter
welcoming benign individuals
to stay
temporarily
preferably by daylight

the properties pay
poor people
to clean
their pseudo public park
every weeknight
according to their plans

zuccotti park
to shine
to fake springtime
to wait
for new shadows
to be built
for the debris and ashes
that will follow

if not a secret overlies
this park
a memory that may be future
a dream of indulgence
softness
the softness of banners and bedrolls
of bandanas
the softness of liberty
of summer.