A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN BOSTON
A beautiful day in Boston
Sun is shining, no school, and I’m at Fenway Park.
It’s a close game, but the Sox win!
Everything is looking up.
We walk back through the throngs of people
First the Sox fans, then the Marathon spectators
I watch the Marathon through the crowds
We’re at mile 26 and the runners look tired but excited.
I see an elderly gentleman and a little girl racing
I’m impressed that they’re still running
We head back toward the car
That’s in the Copley Mall.
The Mall looks different today.
Runners with jackets or blankets around their shoulders
All the food courts are packed
And yet something is a little off.
I hear a “boom.”
For a few minutes, nothing happens
Then I turn around to see hundreds of people running toward me
I panic.
I hear everything people are screaming,
“SHOOTER!” “BOMB!”
I run, afraid of what’s making them run
I’ve never seen adults with fear in their eyes like this.
We get in the car to leave.
I just want this day to end.
What started out as a beautiful day in Boston,
Was now the scariest day of my life.
—from 2016 Rattle Young Poets Anthology
__________
Why do you like to write poetry?
John Vernaglia: “Poetry gives me a way to vent my feelings and emotions and find the true words inside of me.”
