—4/12 Easter 10:30 pm 47º Clear, Still
On Union street I stop to watch
a pumper truck, able to pump a
thousand gallons of water a minute,
be backed into Squad Company 1
Station House, one of New York’s
eight Special Operations Commands.
A carved wooden monument, near
the door, is dedicated to the firefighters
killed when burning towers buried
a world view. I’ve come to suspect,
since humans first flaked flint, all
treasured gifts of blood and smoke
arose as confessions of impotence.
The wind will not be appeased:
no matter whose child is offered.
Gerald Wagoner: BA creative writing University of Montana, 1970; MFA sculpture SUNY Albany, New York, 1983. Gerald resides in Brooklyn, New York since 1983. In 1986, he became a Studio-in a-School artist. From1988 to 2017, he taught elementary school art, then high school English For the NYC Department of Education.