Harvey Shapiro was an American poet (January 27, 1924 – January 7, 2013) and former editor of The New York Times.
As a poet, he authored a dozen books from 1953 to 2006, writing in epigrammatic style about things in his everyday life. As an editor, he was always affiliated with The New York Times in some capacity, mainly in the magazine and book reviews, from 1957 to 2005.
GREEN APPLE: STILL LIFE III
Harvey Shapiro
What will come of it
all that light
the light of the lemons
the three pale suns?
To reveal a few consistencies
to make known an intention
to find a place
it clears the air
and settles on the apples’ green skin
the apples green and glazed skin
and then the dark resemblances begin.
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THROUGH THE BOROUGHS
Harvey Shapiro
I hear the music from the street
Every night. Sequestered at my desk,
My luminous hand finding the dark words.
Hard, very hard. And the music
From car radios is so effortless.
And so I strive to join my music
To that music. So that
The air will carry my voice down
The block, across the bridge,
Through the boroughs where people I love
Can hear my voice, saying to them
Through the music that their lives
Are speaking to them now, as mine to me.