sunny skies will come back again

this is new york
the subway in rush hour
a million neon signs
and every time you blink
the lights blur in motion

this is america
where every immigrant lived a novel
of heaven and hell
robber barons, fortunes made and lost
more opportunity per square foot
  than anywhere in the world
some win, some lose
some climb in dizzying ascent
every day has a billion new york seconds
what you can do in a day is change the world

this is new york
they say green pastures are great
and i do love the waterways, the rustic fields
but what is greatness
is a photograph
on high
of the lights, the people
  the banks, corporate headquarters, wall street, big law
    the media, politicians, the fashion district, startups,
      workers at the docks, delivery men, every last taxi driver

the great wealth of the world
is not in gold or oil
but in the new york second

your seconds are worth
  more than you imagine
may you --
  not anyone else, but you
fight, and live that novel
  and transform the world.

 - connelly barnes, 2010-04-18