Past- Present IV

In New York the iron grips the thick sidewalk slabs at the corners. Yellow traffic light boxes, with little hoods for each light, are suspended above in the blue glow of screens and signs. A smell on a street near Times Square, by a shop selling ribbons, trimmings and buttons triggers a jump cut to a space of sun and a kitchen in another century. Smoke rises from the manhole covers. The moment falters and for a split second the surroundings that triggered this jump cut seem contrived. As if the streets had shifted back a bit, as if the scenery had moved.