You can keep Manhattan
And all its yellow flashing lights,
The drunken piggybacks, those freezing nights.
Where our laughter poured out on the side of the street.
Where taxis rushed past, and the steam kissed our feet.
A place where staircases swirled with time,
And like Escher, the rules didn’t align.
Take Central Park where you zipped up my leather;
Your fingers trembling, but not from the weather.
The kisses and the closeness that came right after,
But now those thoughts - they ache, not laughter.
Staring on the subway, we ignored our fate.
You can keep 38th and 6th Avenue’s weight.
Resting our heads on one another as the skyline flew.
Now I need some clouds that will soften my view.
I’ll give way now to the valley sky,
Where mountains lean close and the hills roll by.
Because the memory of Manhattan beats loud in my chest.
And I…
I just really need to rest.
There are oak trees here, oh they are wide and they are true.
And though I’m sometimes blue without you.
You can keep the memory of Manhattan,
Will you do that for me?
Keep it in your pocket, the white shirt with the bee.
So that I don’t hold onto the glimmer of the past.
You can keep Manhattan.
I’ll take the green lights, the green hills,
The rising sun and the sweet stillness that lasts