FOR A NEW YORK WOMAN:
I
(She knows who she is)
Do not, please, transplant her heart
Split her genes or change her sex
Save her from interactive art
And gropers in the Cineplex
Let her dress up with great elan
But not go gaga over fashion
Let her not have a secret fan
Who loves her with a deathly passion
Keep her out of penny stocks
Or other brilliant investing
If bombings rock her, let the shocks
Be only mildly interesting
Let her be somewhat sceptical
Of scouts from Talent Agencies
May pills and powders quickly pall
Without causing dependencies
Keep strychnine from her drinking waters
Save her from earth or air pollution
Spare her from WAP. Likewise the Daughters
of the American Revolution.
Don't let her use the Internet
To bond with mooks in cyberspace
Let her at least run with a set
That know each other, face to face
Mad dog sniper on the roof
Son of God with germ or knife
She knows you had a troubled youth.
Just let her, please, get on with life.
Let her behave much as she pleases
But be particularly wary
And not pick up those foul diseases
That make this prayer so necessary