Display Name (@notprivateaccount.bsky.social)

artmuseRx (@artmuserx) April 11, 2026 - 7:39AM We used to say goodbye at this corner After rehearsals and readings and rants Dreaming of rave reviews We would one day reach for At the newsstand From Habibi with the nice smile We used to say goodbye at this corner Pockets full of poker chips From McKenna’s Pub happy hour That portal to world peace Where the bridge and tunnel meet In the aorta of the big bloody apple We used to say goodbye at this corner After a meeting slash clambake Next to the fire at Art Bar Our favorite tunes and $5 beers Before Google moved in And everybody showed up in vests We used to say goodbye at this corner And cruise Andy Cohen After almost bumping into him And men would come up to us Compliment our feet And ask us to wear lingerie We used to say goodbye at this corner You’d take a yellow cab I’d take the A down to Fulton Street And wait almost forever for the J After getting lost halfway there The sensory overload of it all We used to say goodbye at this corner Where major decisions were made To kiss or to hug To give a handshake To exchange numbers To give in to the transient nature again We used to say goodbye at this corner Old Banks turned into shopping And other tourist traps Toxic gourmet organic labels Afforded us an escalated price Mom & Pops devoured by bastard sons We used to say goodbye at this corner When Dollar Pizza Cost A Dollar! And the 99 Cent place was affordable Where you could fix any problem And still have enough for another drink All that precious New York City junk We used to say goodbye at this corner And say hello again later that night Meeting people we’ll never see again Uptown where the rich are glitzier And louder and meaner And don’t know how to read a room We used to say goodbye at this corner And stop for Tylenol and Vitamin Water That recharge ritual before bed Setting 5 alarm clocks Falling asleep to Rufus Wainwright Wondering if he’s gonna text back We used to say goodbye or this corner And then decide to walk to the next train A few blocks of meaningful conversation A think tank of passion and deception Bobbing and weaving again and again Between the elite and the destitute We used to say goodbye at this corner Before Target and Wells Fargo And we’d share the cigarette we bummed From that lady from out of town And she told us she had high hopes For her daughter’s auditions We used to say goodbye at this corner After looking at magazines we weren’t in (yet) And buying poppers and lube And cleaning that guy’s Airbnb for cash And walking through a couple gardens Imagining we could someday have ALL THIS We used to say goodbye at this corner Back when 23rd Street was the final frontier And the strip of debauchery Brought in the more appeasing crowd Go-Go Dancers and Backrooms Used to be the West Village local color We used to say goodbye at this corner And then I would take a long walk Following the footsteps of my idols And reminding myself it was worth it To risk it all for a precious address And live amongst the motley of creatives We used to say goodbye at this corner But now we only send memes And the letters P M are anathema And we don’t know any of the bartenders The Ubers get more expensive at night And the $3 subway is crazier than ever https://substack.com/@artmuserx/note/c-241830409?r=18ijbn