Vox Populi
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Barbara Crooker: Queens
We are all just walking each other home.
Ram Dass
.
I hadn’t taken the subway in fifty years, not since
I was an undergraduate, and I was nervous.
Back then, it was hard to navigate, as graffiti and peace
signs covered up the maps. But a friend from Queens
wanted to meet for lunch, so I took a deep breath
and set out, clutching the email she’d sent with directions.
Of course, now the maps are electronic, not readily
broken, and easy to read. But her station was confusing,
a maze of underground passages, and she’d warned me
I’d have to walk some distance if I went up the wrong
stairs. So I stood there, trying to align her text, match
her words to the nearby stores. An elderly East Asian
woman asked, You lost? She snatched the papers
from my hand. Okay. Follow me. Wielding her cane
like a weapon, she pushed pedestrians out of the way,
held it up like a banner as we crossed against the light.
She pointed out the “good” fruit stands, wagged her finger
at the “bad” ones, ignored the storefronts with elaborate
gold jewelry. She was my Italian grandmother, in a different skin.
When we reached my destination, she gave me back my papers.
Turn here. Friend lives there. And when I turned to thank her,
she was gone. Above, in the stunted city trees: the wind through
the leaves, the sound of rustling wings.
From Slow Wreckage by Barbara Crooker (Grayson, 2024). Included in Vox Populi by permission of the author.
Barbara Crooker is the author of twelve chapbooks and ten full-length books of poetry. Her many awards include the WB Yeats Society of New York Award, the Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award, and three Pennsylvania Council fellowships in literature.
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Lovely poem, a tribute such as the ones on NPR’s “Unsung Heroes” feature in which a people record a brief story about a someone, usually a stranger, who helped them out in a time of need, be it in a minor or major key.
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Thanks so much, Luray!
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You just can’t go wrong with a Barbara Crooker poem. This poem brought back memories of how kind New Yorkers can be.
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so glad you love Barbara Crooker’s poems as much as I do, Charlie!
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That’s one of the aspects of poetry I so love: a moment frozen in time, perfectly narrated, delightfully told — so well it becomes part of our memory too.
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Always a pleasure to read a Barbara Crooker poem.
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Thanks, Charlie!
Thanks, Lauranne!
Thanks, Donna!
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Evocative and poignant. I could see every move: the confusion, the Good Samaritan underground and then above, with stunted trees and bird wings to finish their mutual journey. Thanks so much.
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Thanks so much, James!
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Superb! As always.
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I love the subtle lyrics of Barbara Crooker.
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loved this poem. Thanks Barbara; you’ve done it again. I’ll be looking for your book.
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Thanks, Kathleen! I’m not doing many readings these days, so I appreciate ways to get this book into the hands of readers!
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Fabulous! I had a similar experience in the NY underground years ago, and I am still grateful.
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Thanks, Rose Mary! The poem creates something universal out of a very specific event.
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Thanks, Rosemary!
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Love this. It echoed a memory of an English woman in London who took charge to assist my husband and me when I was pregnant with my first child 45 years ago.
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Thanks, Barbara. Lovely that you had an experience like this, too!
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