Like pennies, I’ve caught and cradled
promises tossed in handfuls
between tourist passersby
hailing taxis curbside, 
their soon, soon pledges
ring of goodbye
as yellow doors swing—
Winds are strong near my waters, 
and so I hold stray vows in my fountain bed. 

My limbs glisten 
with giggles of children 
who play near my dancing; 
proposals and proclamations 
and artistic speculations 
carried down museum stairs; 
hushed prayers in the after-hours, 
only for my tempered waves, 
of solitude and stalled dreams 
in a city of machines. 
Quietly, I reflect 
how she sparkles 
in my arabesque. 

I hold a mirror 
to lives in motion—
They would marvel 
if they could see 
the freedom 
that comes from 
dancing in place.