40 43 74 00   fourth of july   mid afternoon   sun splattered and thirsting   in a 24 karat dive bar   off of bedford ave   the jagged haired starved artists   buying up their mixed drinks   and the gawking young intellectuals   with gossip to spare   (and presentations everywhere)      40 43 74 00   it's often said that new york city   is the center of the world   it is a series of islands   doused taught   and knit grey   where the self can seep   willing and high   into the teeming mass   with gossip to spare   and presentations everywhere      everyone is someone here   that someone vice versa   economy is language here   and fluency is king      40 43 74 00   it is often said that new york city   is the center of the world      a worm in the apple   a sewer to the sea