"It's December in NY" [by Florence Cassen Mayers]

It’s December in NY

and dogs wear coats.
Rich ladies air fur coats,
the homeless bundle worn coats.
Annual coat
drives distribute hats and coats.
Cold as the Norwegian coast,

cold as South Dakota.
Button up your overcoat.
Layer sweater, leggings, petticoat,
mittens, muffler, ascot.
Is that coat
warm enough? A new winter coat

need not cost a
fortune, coats
are on sale everywhere. 25% off on these coats
40% off on those coats.
Searle on Madison shows beautiful red alpaca coats.
Ducks float

on the reservoir in Central Park (there are no boats),
and boast
down layers under smooth green throats.
We’re not supposed to but we toss them oats,
dry toast,
sugar-coated groats.

Rim of reservoir: ice coated.
Policemen: blue coated.
Ice coats
puddles in crosswalks, sidewalks: coated
with salt, driveways: sand coated.
I coat

Fish fillets lightly with flour, recoat
in hazelnut coating,
a Tbs. olive oil will do to coat
romaine. Vanilla custard thickens, coats
my spoon. We drink a red, a Cote
de Rhone. Please bring home a bag of tacos.

I buy us a used coat rack: we’ve no room in the coat
closet for so many coats. It needs three coats
of paint: an undercoat, a primer, a top coat.

-- Florence Cassen Mayers