Rain Poets from “A Walk in the Woo 2021”
#1 – City Hall Bus Stop, Main Street
D Zeutas-Broer
Front Street
When it rains,
the ancestral footprints
are almost visible
like wet shadows,
Up from dirt paths and
cobblestones
under this
new, smooth concrete.
Almost audible.
Barely the bare feet
and memories of moccasins.
Faint echoes of those who
moved quickly
and made noise.
#2 – Printer’s Building
Vidya Prabhu
RAIN
We are all like drops carried by the wind,
From waters near and far –
Forming clouds,
Raining and flowing down Plantation Street,
And somewhere along we will share our stories,
Labor and love,
And be drops again of
Dew on hydrangeas,
Or mist on apples.
#3 – University Park Bench
Stephen Siddle
Downtown diners steam,
bodegas percolate.
An engine revs to life.
Sirens bloom and fade.
Morning, and Worcester
is on the move.
#4 – Coes Pond Park Bus Stop
Paul Szlosek
Miracles
Rain anoints this slab of concrete.
In winter, chunks of frozen snow
Will skitter across its surface
Propelled by unwitting feet.
Now you’re standing here
Waiting for a bus, barely noticing
The sidewalk if you weren’t
Unexpectedly reading this poem—
Ah, the miracles of poetry!
#5- Newton Square Bus Stop at Intervale St.
Brett Iarrobino
mothership
the city wraps me in its pavement for a gravelly embrace
like a doting parent, she doesn’t seem to mind the drinks,
the blood, the tears, the secrets I’ve been
careless to spill onto her gorgeous obsidian gown
#6 – Cristoforo Columbus Park Bus Stop
Linda McCarthy
Reigning down
Oh the centuries of footsteps
every memory, every deed.
The immigrants in search of home,
the patriots who bleed.
Worcester with its walkways
from Dewey Street to Main…
our history comes to life
with the reigning of the rain.
#7 – Lake Park Bus Stop
Elijah Johnson
Heart City
To the city of seven hills
The heart of where culture spills
From universities to brick mills
Hard working city that pays the bills
And loving people with no ill wills.
#8 Bell Pond bus Stop
Marianna Islam
My contributions are too heavy for me to carry
So let me gently rest them at our feet
Because if I am part of the whole
I can touch everything
And we have more ground to stand on
#9 Tacoma Street bus Stop
Danny Fantom
Mi Pueblo
Cuando era nino…
These hills were so massive, intimidante.
Cuando era hombre…
These hills stored my memories, buenos y malos.
Cuando era padre…
These hills taught me patience, la edad viril y de confianza.
Y cuando me voy…
Yo quiero morir aqui, en mi Pueblo.
#10 – Broad Meadow Brook Bus Stop
Janet Shainheit
On my street
no one chops
wood against the frost.
No one taps
maple trees for sap.
On my street
trees give music.
Morning voices
tumble from the leaves.
We do not see
our birds.
Trees sing.
#11 Friendly House
Jury Vybz
Jamaican born and bred
Fleeing a hate crime
To Worcester I fled
Pride flag waving my first memory
Then I knew this seven hills Massachusetts city welcomed me
Cold and frigid in winter
But the citizens heart are warm summer
Years later I’m a proud citizen of Wuzsta
#12 – Girl’s Inc. Bus Stop
Eve Rifkah
when the dish cracks
pieces held in hand
crumbs fall between
three pieces held
in her hands
she hears her friend
say life too short
to fret broken
glass
#13 – Crompton Park, Corner of Canton St.
Mark A. Thomas aka Mumblez
open minded
speak freely, speak openly,
speak calmly, respectfully
speak mindful, speak true,
speak for me and for you,
speak to what we know, and consider what don’t
speak for unsung heroes, the young,
the new and the old
speak now open and awake
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
D Zeutas-Broer
Murals
This place is full of ideas.
Showing its true colors
sometimes
On buildings.
Building bridges on brick walls.
Building on itself.
3D sometimes
Imaginations manifested
big time.
Uniting audiences
sometimes.
Pow! Wow!
Zoey Ailm Al-aHyaa’
Mudarris Freddo Tsunami
(Teacher a Cold Tsunami)
Afternoon is to prepare
a long visit for nightfall.
My neighbor, she will visit;
My friend, she will dance;
My teacher, she will sing;
The acquaintance, she will play.
You and I will dress the part
to welcome them all back to
Earth tonight!
Mark A. Thomas aka
message in a puddle
rain creates rhythmic sound mind body air comes down movement healing
no longer concealing the word droplets on the ground know your worth
you are profound.
Gennifer Dorgan
Welcome to Tatnuck
Tatnuck: a name in Nipmuc language,
an old stump still sprouting shoots,
though Englishman’s Foot proliferates
all over Pleasant Street lawns.
Hostas mingle with hydrangeas,
Japanese maples with Acer saccharum,
and coneflower offers its healing hand
from the earth to each generation
Frances LaMar Brzezicki
Walk In The Woo
On days
Rainy and gray
Connect with our city in
Enjoyable ways.
Stroll, strut, sing, shine
That is your choice.
Everyone is welcome
Residents here have a voice!
Ari Charbonneau
Que Lastima
The sharks in suits,
Swim down Main Street.
While she sits sadly,
Beneath the bridge on Green.
Homeless as a cold,
Coney Island hotdog
without a bun.
She hobbles to my car,
And I hand her a blanket.
“They stole my cane,”
she explains.
Que Lastima!
Dan Lewis (deceased)
The Cat
crosses the
ice on quick
feet. Oblivious
of Sandburg or
Williams, it
hurries across the small
cove then stops,
angles off to the left,
searching for dry
landfall, sniffs air and
darts finally into
the brush, leaving
no mark on landscape
or literature.
Judging team: Elizabeth Bacon, Coordinator of Clemente Course in the Humanities; Katherine Gregiore, WCPA Board Member; Juan Matos, Poet Laureate, City of Worcester; Walter Molina, Clemente Alumnus
Other members of the committee: Rodger Martin, President, WCPA; Karen Sharpe, Development, WPI