Standing on the sidewalk

At the intersection of 7^th Avenue and Broadway,

        between west 46^th and west 45^th street.

I gaze into the distance,

Absorbing all of the excitement, energy, pizzazz, and liveliness surrounding me.

Blinding bright LED lights fill the street, all day and all night

Even during a night sky when all is dark, Times Square lights shimmer and sparkle.

Looking around you see every color imaginable and beyond,

Billboards visible with every turn of the head,

Broadway musical advertisements, Coca-Cola, The Hard Rock Café, TGI Friday’s,

        Kodak, Toshiba, and Toys R Us.

 

Mustard yellow taxis zoom by, adding to the overwhelming amount of colors,

Everything feels so rushed,

People walking briskly from A to B,

Pushing and shoving through the crowd,

Tourists stopping every couple steps they take

To savor every moment of their journey, to this city of wonders.

Anxious children tugging on their mother’s hand,

Pulling them towards the Disney characters walking around, just to realize that

        they want money for a picture.

Homeless men, sitting next to Starbucks,

Begging for any spare change

Playing music on street corners to make a living.

 

Boisterous noises coming together,

Forming one sound, the sound that never sleeps,

Cars honking,

Street vendors bargaining,

Taxi wheels screeching, as they halt for passengers,

Street performers strumming their guitars or blowing their trumpets,

Mothers soothing crying children,

Grates that shake and rattle as the subways zip by,

And businessmen yapping on the phone.

Large skyscrapers trap the sounds, to form the melody of Times Square.

 

Wafts of sweet roasted nuts penetrate the air,

Along with food cooking in multiple restaurants,

Gasoline from passing vehicles,

Overflowing trash cans,

Steam that seeps through the street vents,

And clouds of smoke lingering from cigarettes.

The mix of these scents is the perfume of Times Square.

 

This place is a living part of nature

Unifying the sights, sounds, and smells of the inhabitants

        who walk its streets everyday

To form the exhilarating arena of Times Square,

And we, the individual are a piece of it.

 

--Ilana Rothstein