Take the 4A Train to Haarlem

Tickets to Haarlem

not the uptown chic

of New Amsterdam.

Rather a ride through

the Netherlands—

flat low greens,

polders in long lines

bisecting small canals,

ditches along the rails.

The chunk chunk

of the tracks

leads us past empty

stations, quickly delivers

us out onto stoned streets,

where we will take my leather

jacket in for some hemming,

the crafts still active

in pockets of shops.

Haarlem, the oldest city

in Holland, based on the plan

of Jerusalem, the Dutch name

meaning the place

on sand dunes and trees

higher than others.

Where beer brewing

is a still a feature in both

the streets and museums.

And tulip capital during

the mania still traces the past.

What now takes up the space

of merchantile trade:

the spices and flowers

captivating viewers

in still life paintings.

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