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My First Skyscraper

A monster of stone that could talk to the clouds

HAM
1–2 minutes

Kim has set the prompt today at d’Verse Poets Pub.
Write a poem about a building.

My First Skyscraper
Taller than Grandpa was when I was five.
A stony-steel beast that could talk to the clouds.
Sharp, shiny windows watching. Boxy eyes
you couldn’t see through, but they could see you.
A hundred steep steps to get close. The entrance
a spinning contraption swallowing giddy crowds.
Moving staircases moonwalking bodies to somewhere
important. Ceilings that made your neck ache.
I heard someone say we were in the Big Apple.
This building was nothing like fruit to me.

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17 responses to “My First Skyscraper”

  1. kim881 Avatar
    kim881

    Your poem reminded me of the one and only time I visited New York, Shirley. I thought we had some tall buildings in London, but New York skyscrapers blew my mind. I love the nostalgia, the memory of being five, and seeing ‘a monster of stone that could talk to the clouds’ – and the final lines made me smile.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. ShirleyB Avatar
      ShirleyB

      Thank you, Kim.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. kim881 Avatar
        kim881

        You’re most welcome.

        Like

  2. Jane Dougherty Avatar
    Jane Dougherty

    Out of the mouths of babes.

    I think your first impressions were just about right 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. ShirleyB Avatar
    ShirleyB

    Thank you, Jane. Though I’ve never actually been there:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Grace Avatar
    Grace

    That last line just pulled the punch for me. I have actually been there and yes, my neck strained a lot from looking up at those skycraper. Love this line: A monster of stone that could talk to the clouds.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. ShirleyB Avatar
    ShirleyB

    Thank you, Grace 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  6. Yvonne Osborne Avatar
    Yvonne Osborne

    Seen through the eyes of a child, when everything is big. Love your ending.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. merrildsmith Avatar
    merrildsmith

    I love this child’s impression of seeing skyscrapers and the city. I love the comparison of “taller than Grandpa.”

    I’d seen so many tall buildings when I was little that I don’t remember a first one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar
    Björn Rudberg (brudberg)

    If I had been to New York when I was a bit younger I would probably have felt exactly like this, but I do remember the awe (when still the twin-towers were there)… since then I have seen even taller (the tallest was Taipei 101, which was the world’s tallest then)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. brendan563 Avatar
    brendan563

    This is loaded with enchantment. I was agape too when my father hung me on the railing of the observation deck of the Empire State Bulding when I was three. I looked down to see ocean liners no bigger than my shoes.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. Gillena Cox Avatar
    Gillena Cox

    luv the view through a child’s eye. Nice one. Thanks gor dropping by my blog

    Much♡love

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. pandamoniumcat Avatar
    pandamoniumcat

    I’ve never been to New York but I remember when I first went to Melbourne I could not stop looking up at the buildings… I was a girl from the outback so it was something new at the time! Your poem reminded me of those days,

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I grew up in a big city but still am impressed by tall buildings! I like your point of view from the eyes of a child…especially the spinning contraption that swallowed people 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    The first tall building over two stories I ever saw was on a field trip in high school and it wasn’t very tall. Still now, they amaze me. But I know there are many who follow your poem line to line. I sure do like it, ending perked me up. Thank you, Shirley. Thanks too for peeking in on me.

    ..

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Laura Bloomsbury Avatar
    Laura Bloomsbury

    I love the way the poem pulls the reader along with the poet through the sights and experience

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. rothpoetry Avatar
    rothpoetry

    This is a wonderful post, Shirley. I love all of your descriptins of the skyscraper!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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