Carl Stevens' Journal: A Poem For Victims, Survivors, First Responders
Hate owned a minute
but we ran for hours
because this shining town is ours.
The hurt was sudden.
The day was long.
But we are Boston.
Boston strong.
We sank in shadows
But a light stayed on
Because the light of life
Is a marathon.
One foot, then the other,
Through the course of our life
We cheer on our children
Our husband
Our wife
A strand of relationship
Winds down the street
United by heart
And soul
And feet.
A will to keep going
The strength to succeed
To plant in the present
Tomorrow's bright seed.
We've run longer
Than anyone else in the nation
The baton has been passed
Through generations
And we won't stop running
Because of some fear
We know our place
And our place
Is right here.
The race is won
By those who run
Who have the strength
To answer each day's starting gun.
And next year, in April
In Hopkinton
We'll gather together
And together we'll run.
We'll run through the heat
We'll run through the rain
We'll run through the cramps
And we'll run through the pain.
And we'll remember together
What happened that day
When a cloud of destruction
Made the sun go away.
We'll run past madness
Terror and hate
Some of us limping
But all of us great.
It's a race of freedom
That we've always run here
From Frederick Douglass
To Paul Revere.
And we'll finish triumphant
In a town without fear
Because we know our place
And our place
Is right here.
Listen to Carl's poem:
