Finally, taxi passengers can find peace in the back seats of their dirty, noisy cabs.
The city yesterday began treating riders to silent 15-second animated poetry spots on their Taxi TV screens, part of the newly expanded Poetry in Motion campaign started by the MTA.
The first poems are “Graduation,” by Dorothea Tanning, and “Noche de Lluvia, San Salvador,” by Aracelis Girmay.
The poems — along with images from the MTA’s substantial art collection — are part of a 12-minute program loop that changes every two hours.
The MTA recently revived the popular subway program after a four-year hiatus, and this is the first time it has been expanded to another form of transit.
“Poetry in Motion was so popular with our customers that they demanded that we bring it back,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota.
“I think it will be equally appreciated by taxi riders.”
Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky was so moved by the occasion, he composed a short poem of his own.
Its final verse reads: “I think that I shall never see / a poem lovely as a taxi. When raindrops fall like an autumn leaf / an empty cab is sweet relief.”
The poems for the program are selected by the Poetry Society of America, which seeks to find works that reflect the rich diversity of New York City.