flâneur

Shapeless – Vol. 1 Brooklyn

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Late summer soon after moving to the city, I take the train and wander until I have to pee. The streets smell vaguely of garbage and excrement. I don’t know where I am. Sunglasses, cobblestone, the sure strides of locals and the tourists’ chatter, wide eyes. A cop car parked on 5th Avenue has its windows rolled down, cigars attached to the arms of faceless shadows hanging out of them, smoldering into the heavy air. A woman with bright pink sneakers jogs by. Heat, humidity. I wear a green tank top and denim shorts and watch men watch me cross the street. I veer left into Central Park and find a bench to sit on. My phone tells me the Museum of Modern Art is relatively close and I can buy a ticket for the 12:30 timeslot for $25. I enter my credit card information and pull up a map of the city on my phone, the little blue dot beaming my direction in a triangular shape. I turn slowly, staring at the screen, imagining how lost and only visiting I must seem to the passersby passing by with th

Essays Shapeless November 16, 2023 by Vol.1 Brooklyn Essays No Comments Shapeless by Emily Alexander Late summer soon after moving to the city, I take the train and wander until I have to pee. The streets smell vaguely of garbage and excrement. I don’t know where I am. Sunglasses, cobblestone, the sure strides of locals and the tourists’ chatter, wide eyes. A cop car parked on 5 th Avenue has its windows rolled down, cigars attached to the arms of faceless shadows hanging out of them, smoldering into the heavy air. A woman with bright pink sneakers jogs by. Heat, humidity. I wear a green tank

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