– improvisational reaction to a word received in my In Box from Dictionary.com

desiderata\dih-sid-uh–rey-tuh\plural noun

1. Things wanted or needed.

Go with energy and excitement and with a good awareness of your surroundings, and a surge of concealed fear as well, into the noise pollution, hurrying, skateboarding, sidewalk sprinting, bike dodging, speeding hell that is New York City, and know that if you prefer peace and stillness and a quiet, calm contentment you will have to move out of the 600 square feet you are overpaying a thousand dollars a month for, with the knocking steam pipes and 1970s oven and frantic scratching in the thin plasterboard walls, walls that do not soften the banging and bickering and violent humping and climatic liberation of your neighbors, nor do the leaky windows much deter the drawn out honking up at the corner from those unwilling to wait more than a second after a light change, though in such situations it is recommended you do not rush out to your steps to output words that might further upset such driver as he, and it will be a he, as he already is that, upset to all get out, and you do not want to add to his instability by speaking truth to ire, just as you do not want your fragile psyche or jaw bone upset to a debilitating disorder, so it is best to ignore him and continue forth knowing you are well and whole, and you are able to go off and do whatever it is you do to satisfy your sense of self and/or earthly needs, but do remember in those matters it is best to remain skeptical at all times, as the competition downtown, uptown and everywhere in New York town is fierce and cutthroat even as there is much to be heard about ideals and justice and level playing fields, so be sure to make it a policy of yours to not be lured into that folly even if you are simpatico with all three and in desperate need of the latter, and if it is a level playing field you are desperate for it is likely you are a freelancer working at an hourly rate with an annoying agency behind you and a domineering boss in front, in other words, you are in a situation that has you biting your tongue often, and if it so happens you are not a freelancer, be assured you will be, sooner or later everyone is, and so recall in such matters it is best to smile and take it, or grin and bear it, whatever your preference, doing one or the other in order to continue your tenuous, itinerant, standing with a sense of good feeling all around, but in no way should you let any of that interfere with your goal, whatever world-renowned acclaim you have in mind for yourself at the end of the rainbow, even if that arc of spectral colors is something you see only when you are out of town, though, take note, it is wise not to press too much of that bewildering fantasy on family and friends, not even on your spouse-companion, whomever it is you have chosen or been the chosen of to spend your time and find release with, as he/she/they might be more established in their profession than you are in yours and believe they have clearance to be brutal in their judgments and thus would not hesitate to put forward the question why do you continue to reach for the stars when you are forty, you are still paying off college loans, you’re credit card is maxed out, your current freelance gig is up Friday and you are without other prospects at the moment, nevertheless, you might retort to he/she/they, forty is young nowadays, there is still time to fulfill that dream of awards and prizes and vast public attention you will achieve in the prestigious venues that reject you now but will not do so forever, so yes, those will come, in due course, and whatever else might be bandied about after that by said spouse-companion, do not flinch if your assertion is taken as a signal you are not growing into your years but avoiding them even as the mirror undeniably tells you otherwise, you are presently as fearless and deluded as when you started out, beat up you may be but humble you are not, you do not surrender, and that is not a bad way to be, each life unfolds in its own way, soon you will be the light at the end of the tunnel, singular, bright and clairvoyant, and what is yours to believe is yours and yours only and you will continue to ignore those foolish rejections and punishing defeats and misfortunes that stagger but do not drop you, such is life, as they say, but you are not they, you are much more than the freelancing spouse-companion of a more advanced talent, you are a unique creation of god, you possess a vision that is your own, one with the potential to awe and inspire and by all means you intend to push ahead with that goal through all the clamor and confusion and mockery, the utter indifference that comes with your address in New York, and as you go on with that you must remember to strive to be happy, to seek harmony with the universe, and remember too to look both ways before crossing Houston Street.

(2016)