Poetry in Motion
New York
Awaking in New York
Maya Angelou![](https://poetrysociety.org/assets/poetry-in-motion/Maya-Angelou-poem.jpg)
Awakening in New York
Curtains forcing their will
against the wind,
children sleep,
exchanging dreams with
Seraphim. The city
drags itself awake on
subway straps; and
I, an alarm, awake as a
rumor of war,
lie stretching into dawn,
unasked and unheeded.
"Awakening in New York" from Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? © 1983 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random house LLC and Caged Bird Legacy, LLC.
A Day in Parkchester © 2011 William Low, Parkchester/NYC Transit.
Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design.