between the bridge and the avenue

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I ride my bike just about everywhere.

the subway in the summer feels like a test I don’t need to take, and honestly, it adds up. so I ride. from lower Manhattan back to Flatbush, it’s about an hour. twelve miles, give or take. just me and the street and the city pouring past.

those rides have become more than a way home. they’re part ritual, part release. a place to notice things and turn over old feelings, or shape stray thoughts into lyrics. sometimes I leave the city with nothing on my mind and arrive in Brooklyn with the start of a song.

the other day, crossing the Manhattan Bridge, I started thinking: none of us will ever get to see it all. not all the towers that will one day reshape the skyline, not every new restaurant, or style, or shift in the culture, or the breakthroughs in medicine, in tech, in space, and in art. the future keeps unfolding just ahead of us, and we’re only here for a piece of it.

but what we do get, what we’re given in our time, is the part that really matters:
the love we feel, and the purpose we chase. the quiet moments of kindness and connection. the way we choose to show up for ourselves and for each other, right now.

we each get a chapter. and what gives it weight isn’t how much plot we witness. it’s who we love in the pages and what we fight for. how we change. and what we leave behind, marked softly in the margins.

I’ve been thinking about my chapter. I’m still in the early pages, but it got messy fast.
some choices took more from me than I meant to give. some nights I wandered and disappeared from myself. I’m learning how to stay and to be gentle with what’s still healing. some nights, I can follow the light more easily: just a mile at a time, make it home, and dream a little better.

I wrote a song called e FLAT about one of those rides home. it’s about looking for something I haven’t found yet, but hoping it might find me anyway.

e FLAT riding my pawn-shop bike/resurfacing Brooklyn side/E Flat wind feels alright/tripping how you kissed me hard/outside the party tonight/I was so depressed & ugly/but Saturday’s keeping it all the way live/& I keep thinking, this is me, this is me/like I’m trying to believe it/like I’m going to dream it/new dream in bad ones tonight

29 responses to “between the bridge and the avenue”

  1. Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Avatar
    Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey

    Incredible, cookie!
    I love this!!!
    “but what we do get, what we’re given in our time, is the part that really matters:
    the love we feel, and the purpose we chase. the quiet moments of kindness and connection. the way we choose to show up for ourselves and for each other, right now.

    we each get a chapter. and what gives it weight isn’t how much plot we witness. it’s who we love in the pages and what we fight for. how we change. and what we leave behind, marked softly in the margins.”
    This could be a song too!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      o, thank you, Sheila. bike rides can lead us to incredible places. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Susana Cabaço Avatar
    Susana Cabaço

    Your post is in itself a lesson on life! So illuminating and comforting all at once. Taking these highlights with me: “the quiet moments of kindness and connection” and “it’s who we love in the pages and what we fight for.” Here you summed up the meaning of life. I would have added: and how we grow while connecting and loving. Your words felt like a healing and nourishing balm. Touching in so many ways. And so, thank you, Cookie, for your share and wisdom and for the loving song. Much enjoyed! With gratitude and appreciation, sending lots of light, love, and blessings to you, my friend 🙏✨💖🌻🌞

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      hi, Susana. I stumble forward most days, still learning what it means to be whole. thank you for nurturing me with your wisdom and showing me such great kindnesses. ♥️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Sara Flower Avatar
    Sara Flower

    I love the sound of e flat.
    Also, riding home sounds like a great way to unwind plus you get to see things you’d miss on the subway.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      underground in NYC can be its own adventure, but you’re right, Sara, riding my bike calms me and set me down right in the middle of the city’s pulse.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Sara Flower Avatar
        Sara Flower

        True it is cool being underground too. And seeing different stations. Above ground is more refreshing at times. Glad you enjoy riding and seeing the city.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Michele Lee Avatar
    Michele Lee

    “part ritual, part release” 💗 I ride most days and feel the same. Catching you at the end of a long hot day dear cookie and with so much to appreciate and process with your beautiful writing, I’ll be back in the early morning to read again and listen to your song. Thank you for sharing. I love your poetic soul and observations. 🎶

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      I wonder if sometimes we’re out riding at the same time, like we’re riding together. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Michele Lee Avatar
        Michele Lee

        A lovely thought to ponder. Probably so. 😊 x

        Liked by 1 person

      2. cookie Avatar
        cookie

        🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Michele Lee Avatar
        Michele Lee

        🚴‍♀️🎵🚴‍♀️ I was out early this morning.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Michele Lee Avatar
        Michele Lee

        Thank you for the song share, cookie. I enjoyed listening. 🎶

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Mindful Mystic (MM) Avatar
    Mindful Mystic (MM)

    So beautiful, moving, and heartwarming, cookie. You and your music are a light of hope and healing to be cherished in the world. 🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      hi! that’s so kind of you, thank you. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. graysummers Avatar
    graysummers

    Lovely reading the comments you receive cookie. Your words definitely spark flames of recognition in others’ experiences. And definitely resonate with others’ souls too. Whatever their age.

    I was reflecting the other day on a lyric I wrote about a ‘party’ when younger. Also on another song I wrote about travelling around the city centre and the highlights and lowlights of self and social life involved. Neither song has travelled well with my observations performing badly and very much aging poorly lyrically.

    I know my youth had a different dynamic concerning the Party or City Life vibe. My lyrics from back then, on re-reading, certainly do not hold any meaning whatsoever in my current older age. And the lyrics I captured back then are unfamiliar and irrelevant. As said, they haven’t aged well. Stuck fast in their own Time Zone.

    Fascinatingly, your poetic lyrics in all your songs, and in these blog scenario observations, are actually timeless. They actually do transcend holistically and will stay relevant to others, of different ages, for decades. Keep on cookie. Your vibe is magical.

    All the best. 💫.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      it’s strange, Gray, today at the donut shop people were talking about what kind of office job they’d have in an alternate universe. someone said I’d be the head of the urban division somewhere, which made me laugh, but also kind of stayed with me awhile.

      I guess it’s true, I notice a lot about the places and people around me. it all kind of soaks in and from there I don’t totally know how to explain why I think the way I do, or how any of that ends up in my songs. it just does. the dial on my radio is tuned to it, as my mom would say.

      I’m happy you stopped by, and I want to hear more of your music. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. graysummers Avatar
        graysummers

        Please don’t analyse the emotions and observations you write about cookie. Just let them flow naturally. Instinct is a blessing. You read back your words in a year’s time and nod in recognition that they were indeed instinctive and true. You then know they were splendid, insightful, heartfelt and real.

        My music? I have a nice combo of songs bubbling under the surface and awaiting the breakthrough of the ‘Yay! They actually work’ scenario. I am getting a bit more melancholy melodically though. Nice tunes though. I find myself singing a-Capella recently throughout the daytime. Influenced by recent events I suppose. But very comforting for my soul. First captured in whispery humming/singing la la la middle of nighttime songs that are too uncomfortable to shout out loud because of their lack of confidence. But gain more strength in expression as day time light invades. Bit like recent life really.

        Cheers cookie. Lovely insightful reply from you…..and from what you say, your family and friends in real day to day life are indeed precious. So positive and nurturing. They see the blessed innate power in you. They recognise a very splendid and worthwhile quality in you.

        When people say these things? I do this…..Humbly nod one’s head in acceptance, put their earnest positivities deep in the pockets of one’s mind for keeps and carry them forwards on life’s journey. Down the decades? You will open those mind-pocket memories, reflect on them and simply smile. They were right all along.

        Cheers cookie. 💫

        Liked by 1 person

      2. cookie Avatar
        cookie

        🤍

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Robert Horvat Avatar
    Robert Horvat

    One day I’ll get to New York. By plane of course. But there is nothing more amazing than seeing a city on foot or a bike.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      hi! it may be the best way to really feel a place.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  8. Cindy Georgakas Avatar
    Cindy Georgakas

    Your words are always like a warm hug with lots to ponder and appreciate. I love your feet on the ground navigating the world around you in between the margins and pages as the words find their way into a song. I can’t wait to hear this one but I’m “supposed to be sleeping” ha. Can’t wake everyone now. I’ll be back! 🩷

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      ♥️ you’re always welcome!

      Like

      Reply
  9. Willie Torres Jr. Avatar
    Willie Torres Jr.

    Cookie, this is such a deeply moving and beautifully written reflection. The way you capture your rides, the city, the thoughts, and the emotions is like painting with words.

    And that song, E Flat, is so beautiful. One thing I need you to know: you are not ugly in any way. You are wonderfully made, treasured, and seen by God and by so many others.

    The way you speak about chapters, love, and purpose reminds me that while we may not see everything this world will become, we are promised something greater beyond it. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

    Your story, every page, is in His hands, and He is writing something beautiful through you, even in the messy parts.

    Keep riding, keep dreaming, and keep shining His light mile after mile.

    You Are Loved

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Willie Torres Jr. Avatar
    Willie Torres Jr.

    Cookie, this is such a deeply moving and beautifully written reflection. The way you capture your rides, the city, the thoughts, and the emotions is like painting with words. And that song, E Flat, is so beautiful. One thing I need you to know: you are not ugly in any way. You are wonderfully made, treasured, and seen by God and by so many others.

    The way you speak about chapters, love, and purpose reminds me that while we may not see everything this world will become, we are promised something greater beyond it. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

    Your story, every page, is in His hands, and He is writing something beautiful through you, even in the messy parts.

    Keep riding, keep dreaming, and keep shining His light mile after mile.

    You Are Loved

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. cookie Avatar
      cookie

      dear Willie, your words reached me like a sacred prayer, imprinting on my heart, a gift I will return to, time and time again.

      I will hold them close, always. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Willie Torres Jr. Avatar
        Willie Torres Jr.

        Be, Safe, Be Well, Be Blessed and Be Strong…

        Liked by 1 person

      2. cookie Avatar
        cookie

        🤍

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Willie Torres Jr. Avatar
    Willie Torres Jr.

    🤗🤗🤗

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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