East River Voices, by Anthony Iacobucci

Bridge, Blackwell's Island, by George Bellows (USA)1909.

East River Voices
​
I am the river,
dark and heady.
I am the city
eager and ready.

I am the bridge,
standing alone
on stocky legs
of iron and stone.

I am the tugboat
puffing on course,
chugging against
the current’s force.

I am the onlooker,
wild with dreams
of locomotion
and busy machines.

I am the fisherman,
curved at the back,
grasping the pole
and leaving it slack.

I am the lantern
heavy with oil,
as shadows amble
past well-worn soil.

I am the daughter
of slavery’s scars,
the sky a deep river
rushing with stars.

I am the soldier
striding ahead,
my eyes aglint
with pride and dread.

I am the boxer
charging in,
my eyes aglow
in the crowd’s wild din.

I am the fireman,
rushing at the bell;
I won’t back down
from the flames of hell.

I am the mother,
my song I pray:
Ave Maria,
our Mater Dei.

I am the son,
two tongues in my head
Nostro pane quotidiano:
Our daily bread.

We paint our young tongues
with languages old,
then add our own shades
in amber and gold.

We are Liberty,
our torches burn bright.
They burn for the yearning,
they burn through the night.

Now swift as can be,
we race to the jetty.
We are the city
eager and ready.

Anthony Iacobucci

Anthony Iacobucci is an avid reader and writer, and is an English teacher at TRECA Digital Academy.  He lives in Plymouth, Ohio with his wife, Mallory, and two children, Calvin and Liberty.  He also serves his community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.