When You Leave New York

When you leave New York
By a train, or otherwise
It will be much less quirky
And eventful
Than it should be

It will be a quiet affair
With the city slowly turning into something
Connecticut maybe, or New Jersey
And then it'll be something else
Something that doesn't resemble New York at all

When you leave New York
You'll get a job at an independent bookstore
Or maybe a not-so-independent bookstore
And you'll recommend books
By authors from New York
Books about New York
That take place in New York
That have a New York sort of feeling about them
And you, yourself, will not read these books

When you leave New York
You will work less
You will have more
You will sleep
You will relax
You will not walk
You will drive
You will be glad you left New York

When you leave New York
You will find that 2am is a much later hour than it was
When you lived in New York
You will find it harder
To go back and visit friends
Who live in New York
Because they expect you to stay up so much later than you can anymore

When you leave New York
You will meet a nice person
A nicer person than you would have met in New York
And you will begin a nice courtship
That will end in an amicable break-up
Creating an altogether unmemorable romantic experience

When you leave New York
You will feel older
And younger
At the very same time
Saying your name to yourself to see if you believe it

When you leave New York
You will feel as if you have stopped hanging out
With a friend from childhood
Who became addicted to drugs you only dabbled in

When you leave New York
You won't talk about New York
Aside from at parties, where New York stories
Are more valuable than onion dip

The entire room will rush
When it hears that someone
Has lived
In New York

You'll say--

'Yes, I lived there--and then I left'

And despite everything you could say
And everything that everyone
Would like to hear you say

You'll leave it at that

You'll leave it
Right where it is