“Black City” © Digby Beaumont

 

ON TILT

Startling
when I finally got back
the city on full tilt:
a rigged poker game
this city—
hookers at the entrance
to the Tunnel
flashing their stuff—
spreadeagled
on windshields
during the rush hour crawl

 

Mistake
after another city
of fountains
and lush squares—
a walking city
end to end,
Rodin sculptures alive
in a greenhouse untended;
a person could wander,
gaze, unfettered
Set back as it was
in high weeds off the boulevard
resplendent flags in a line
breezy, the world waving

 

Working
in a building nearby Bryant Park
where the junkies did their daily,
shots ringing out
random fire,
Cops bracing Times Square
and 42nd Street
book ended,
holsters bulging &
night-sticks twirling: Just try it.
The peep show parlors promising
24 hour entertainment

 

Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty-year writer and the author of 12 published books of fiction and poetry and 5 stage plays. She has been nominated 21 times for the Pushcart Prize in both fiction and poetry. Her play ‘Crooked Heart’ concerning artist Jackson Pollock premiered on October 25, 2022 at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Adapted from an earlier novel, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Her new Novel ‘HAIR OF A FALLEN ANGEL’ will be out soon from Spuyten Duyvil Books. Susan is a Brand Ambassador for The Galway Review.

Digby Beaumont spends a lot of his time in a room alone making pictures. He aims to capture an emotional presence or a mood in his work. His subjects include portraits, figures, urban scenes and still lifes. Many of his works suggest elements of a story. His artwork has been published in collaboration with writers of fiction, poetry and music. He’s also a writer. His stories and poetry have appeared in more than 100 magazines and anthologies. He’s based in Hove in England, on the south coast.