Category: Personal

The discarded personal items of New Yorkers tell the most intimate and often overlooked stories.

Signing Off

52,000 marathon runners, But this sign is for you. For everything you are, And everything you do. 26.2 miles is an incredibly long race, But so is life and the challenges we face. I’m so grateful that your miles are...Read More

Abandoned cactus cat scratching post on 9th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, New York City.

Rough Night Out

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

I escaped the claws of a lion To be abandoned in the rain, But I was gloriously free To start my life again. But the night brought a recklessness That only a sad mind can understand, Because when you’re alone...Read More

Graffiti on a New York City lamppost declaring "Art is free, so is love."

So True

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Sometimes the trash we encounter on the streets of New York City has its own message, and any sort of commentary or artful exploration meaning for isn't necessary. This was one of those times. The trash, and its surrounding context,...Read More

Abandoned doll house on a New York City sidewalk.

Goodbye My Castle

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Forgotten memories in every room, Now sidewalk trash under a rising moon. The imagination needs a place to play, Until life gets real and there is rent to pay. The cost of growing up is dire indeed, As we all...Read More

Petals

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Both of us tried, You know we did. One rose of a soul, We felt like kids. Then one of us fell, Or were we pushed? Onto the sidewalk, Where we were smushed. And now we’re alone, Our love became...Read More

Rainy Manhattan sidewalk, Hells Kitchen.

Better

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Walking south on the west side down, Black umbrellas hiding faces all around. Suddenly a flower in the cold winter rain, And a bright hat that no one wants to claim. Such is the price of January weather, As the...Read More

2022 Trash Item of the Year: Chairs

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

I’m guessing 2022 will go down in history as the year New Yorkers got out of their chairs and began to live again. After seemingly countless false starts declaring “New York City is back!”, it wasn’t until later in 2022...Read More

Life Is A Marathon

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

My fiancé has run the NYC marathon five times. A few years ago she introduced me to her favorite part of the event: Finish Line After Dark. Long after the sun has set and the runners have drifted off to...Read More

Deflated blowup doll in Hells Kitchen, New York City.

Is This Me? – Out Of Air (Part Two)*

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Is this me? Is this really who I am? Abandoned in a doorway, I was just in a trash can. Is this really me, Can anyone live like this? When all I ever wanted, Was to belong and have a...Read More

Blow up doll in Hell's Kitchen, New York City.

Out of Air (Part One)

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

I found you dying in the sunset, As autumn in the City began. Another woman took your picture, And we laughed at your trash can. Though we didn’t know your story, We could feel there was sadness. Because nightfall on...Read More

discarded sink in New York City's theater district

Washed Your Hands Of This

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

You finally made it to Broadway, Wearing costumes you made at home. But everyone knew you were acting, And now you’re all alone. The summer heat felt like applause, Ovations of sweat and lust. Your dreams became your reality, But...Read More

Missed America

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Darts on a board, Red, white, and blue. Our aim was off, But our intentions were true. Does any of it matter, When the game is a lie? What happens to scorekeepers, When the numbers die? The British Empire fell,...Read More

Your Dream Now

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Don’t ask me how I got here. It’s a sad story. pillow talk Don’t ask me where I belong. It’s a painful story. sail away Don’t ask me where I’m going. It’s an unknowable story. lonely dreams Don’t ask me...Read More

I Was Proud

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

There was a time When I was proud. I had majestic horns And my enemies bowed. Love was mine And so were you. But time changed us And I changed too. My weakness showed My demons glowed. From home I...Read More

Abandoned frame on a street in New York City.

Framed

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

Life was a broken wall Of random graffiti, Until you came With your frame. you are here And now there is focus On this chaos of bricks, Thanks to the context Of you. surrounded by gold above the hidden stairs...Read More

Next Life Time

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

I prey when I wake up I’ll be a Lamborgini Electric rock rap god I’ll prey to a god That when I am to be risen Thought Full This poem was pulled directly from a notebook discovered flapping on a...Read More

Enough

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

I gave it my all, And life hit back. The colors of my dreams, Now faded into black. NYC bag gives up on life. Cruelty hit hard, And things got rough. Now I’ve finally broken, I’ve had enough. end of...Read More

Your Day

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

This day is always so fun, Another trip around the sun. You and loved ones celebrating together, Knowing you are not plastic and won’t last forever. But that doesn’t matter because today is about you, And now this trash is...Read More

Goodbye Thin Mattress

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

The naked truth Of who we were Was never a bed of love But the darkening street That brought us together Heading in the same direction Now in different taxis Goodbye thin mattress. Forgotten love and an old mattress in...Read More

NYC Empathy: Someone Else’s Shoes

Posted on by nyctrashtalk_4p0wuo

While New Yorkers have a reputation for being gruff, cold, and even obnoxious, the truth is that human empathy holds this city together. New York City is shaped by our ability to appreciate the lives of others – the quiet...Read More

NYC Trash Stories

Broken chairs. Tattered suitcases. The stories of New Yorkers.

Category: Personal

Signing Off

Rough Night Out

So True

Goodbye My Castle

Petals

Better

2022 Trash Item of the Year: Chairs

Life Is A Marathon

Is This Me? – Out Of Air (Part Two)*

Out of Air (Part One)

Washed Your Hands Of This

Missed America

Your Dream Now

I Was Proud

Framed

Next Life Time

Enough

Your Day

Goodbye Thin Mattress

NYC Empathy: Someone Else’s Shoes