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96th Street
By Michael Domino

If you believe that Manhattan ends at 96th Street,
Then I will show you otherwise.
Get on the Bronx-bound number 1 train one afternoon.
Find a seat on the train and sit back, relax, and watch.
The stations go by as the street numbers keep getting higher.
Here, let’s count them together:
96, 103, 125, 145, 157, 181, 191, 207 . . .
Yes, the street numbers do break into the 200s.
The northernmost stop in Manhattan is 215th Street.
The next stop is 225th, and that is the Bronx.
Get off at West 215th Street.
And you must walk south from there because
You will not be swimming across the Harlem River.
You will be walking—in the direction from which you came.
You are in Inwood, in Manhattan, New York City.
You can hear Broadway from everywhere, so all you need to do
Is listen for Broadway, and then you can retrace your path
If you want to get back to 96th Street,
Where some New York City tourist maps end.
But Manhattan is an island that goes north all the way to 215th Street.
And if you live way up there, you might even say to yourself,
Is this Manhattan, or does Manhattan begin down there at 96th Street?
Because up here, we have lots of land and so many parks and trees and grass.
And we’re never too far from some big river—the Hudson, the East, the Harlem.
I stood on a bench on Broadway, and I could see two rivers;
That’s how close they are.
And if you want hills, we have them up here in the Heights.
This is a promise I make to you:
If you walk up some streets in Inwood or the Heights,
They will make your heart pump blood and your lungs suck air, and your brow will sweat—you will feel alive.
Fort Tryon Park, Bennett Park, Fort Washington Park, the Henry Hudson scenic overlook, Inwood Hill Nature Center, Wave Hill, Isham Park, the Cloisters.
Do you like baseball?
You will see baseball games.
Do you like flowers?
You will see a multitude of blooms.
Do you like picnics?
You will see family picnics.
Do you like architecture?
You will see fine architecture.
Do you like history?
You will see many histories.
Do you like people?
You will see many people of all kinds.
Do you like boats?
You will see boats, big and small.
Do you like food?
You will smell and see and taste food everywhere.
Do you like languages?
You will hear a babel of languages.
What do you like?
You will see whatever you like on the other side of 96th Street.

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