Milosz & The Metropolitan
By David Schweidel
Riding a leisurely train down along the Hudson from Poughkeepsie to New York, I ate an avocado sandwich, read Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and then, with a map my friends in Poughkeepsie had lent me, plotted a sight-filled route from Grand Central Station to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The river disappeared behind dark buildings, the train passed through a series of short tunnels, I studied the map. I didn’t want trouble out on those mean city streets so I set tough rules for myself: Don’t stop. Don’t gawk at the tops of buildings. Don’t look confused.