Thing-a-day.com

Thing A Day - The MET

Coming onto it from Central Park’s west traverses
onto the glass pyramid that houses the Temple of Dendur
that is my favorite way.
Cut across the skateboard boys
-on the interior of the fountain,
up the sides of the trapezoidal staircase
PALATIAL ESPLANADE

1.Cnce immigrants, my parents used to talk
(and though America’s being paved with gold is a foolhearty dream)
about the infrastructure, standard of living of
public spaces and commons like the MET.
Beautiful country where water fountains everywhere potable.

Coming onto Fifth Avenue, those apartments the big clean marble, the grand hallway.
At PS 79 they took us on field trips to the MET.
If you sit in the back of the bus you will end up standing in the back of the group
with Natasha and Li Swan who are your friends.
But Bridget is so popular and pretty and in the front of the bus.
Our docent wore easternwear
“When you are in high school you can come back
to take a class every week on
seeing.”
1A.Sarcophagi, one foot thick, so heavy!
Their glass cases create rooms and hallways.
The best part is going behind the cases that encase them
to the cases of kings & queens hidden from light
left alone.
PROVINENCE & STOLEN TREASURES.
You can get papyrus at the museum store.
1B. The temple of Dendur
is inside the glass pyramid you saw from the outside.
The natural light always creates a different color here than in the rest of the galleries.
The carved hieroglyphics are language. It is
godly and keep of scribes: magical, torches, scarabs.
Then throw a penny in the wishing well moat
one for daddy’s bone spur, one for mommy’s loneliness at work

2. I vetted boyfriends here in high school
how much they liked seeing art
how much they knew about Asian Art at Astor Court
(The lattice work and tiled roofs and contorted rocks would be just like the ones I would later see in Su Zhou)
according to how ignorant and hurtful their attempts to relate to Chinese culture were.
How much they leaned in to kiss me afterwards.
In college I came back and sat in painting rooms
cataloging the loves that had bygone.

3. Back in NYC after college and a whole other life alltogether

took couch surfing friends there
took mommy there because she actually likes mimesis, all those rounded shoulders
and
myself
today
going down the steps of this place that holds these memories
diagonally to celebrate a new job woooo!

Last 5 posts by Jenny Zhang

• what's in there? - March 5th, 2008
• moment - February 21st, 2008
• edge - February 19th, 2008
• outside window sounds like summer - February 15th, 2008
• roof lines - February 15th, 2008