Blackbirdan online journal of literature and the artsSpring 2012 v11n1
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SANDRA BEASLEY

The Traveler’s Vade Mecum, Line #346: “The Banks Have Begun to Contract”

One bridge, a hare’s leap over the Monongahela—
One, a hawk’s low swoop along the Allegheny—
One a Hot Metal truss, one a strung bow,

three Sisters suspended and a terminus at Liberty—
If you count the bridges of this city, you lose count.
This was not the original plan. A city should grow

like a muscle. We flex until the small fibers rip,
bathe in the amino acid’s flood. Only a child
tries to staple a tear in the lifting shoulder of God.  


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