This is a poem I wrote sitting on the side of the stage at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, waiting for my turn to perform and knowing that I would be backed by the David Amram Trio. The words were inspired by the famous photo of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Larry Rivers and David Amram himself (top right) hanging out after shooting the film, Pull My Daisy.

New York is a magical place in December and this is just a little love letter.
There is video footage of the performance and we'll eventually get it on here but for now, please enjoy.

One nice note - this couple in the audience liked the poem so much, they asked for a copy so I copied them by hand since this is not available in my books.

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This Is The Best Time Of The Year To Be In New York
by Ralph Alfonso


They're putting up the lights on the trees in Washington Square

You know we'll all be there

singing that old song we know

about the fireplace and the mistletoe

and later, we'll be sitting at our favourite table,

saving you a chair

with eggnog coffees

and apple pies with the vanilla ice cream that everyone likes

And we're kind of hoping that maybe it'll snow

but maybe not that much

just enough to cover the streets and all the parks

and maybe all the trees

so that everything is shining at night and

that old moon is smiling and winking that everything is all right

and we all know it is

because

This is the best time of the year to be in New York


(c) Ralph Alfonso

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Information on the original event is still here:

http://www.litkicks.com/WinterPoetryHappening