One day walking past I wonder
why there are red bars on the roof.
Until someone tells me
it’s a correctional facility.
And then, oh, I see, I say
that the cage-like enclosure is their outdoor space.
Chicken wire keeps them perched above Central Park
And a view anyone would kill for, and probably has.
It overlooks Harlem Meer, the peaceful water
and playground noises below.
But down they go to their rooms
with boarded-up windows, barred from the world —
Just inches beyond a door which leads to the
biggest green space in Manhattan.
Would it make a difference, I wonder,
that your room could have an incredible view?
Maybe it’s better not to know.
