I AM

by Grant Carrington



. . . . . . . . . .

I am the Arch on Washington Square:
    spit at by busses,
    befouled by pigeons,
    painted by artists,
    admired by tourists.

I am the Light on the Empire State:

    lighting the sky
    daring the heavens,
    pointing the clouds,
    painting the landscape.

. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .

I am the Cables of Brooklyn Bridge
I am the Rails of the B.M.T.
I am the Torch of the Lady of Liberty.

. . . . . . . . . .


I am Man:

Spitting in the face of God,
Spurning the life of Nature
Turning, forever scorning
What is left of life.

I am Man:

Alone in my own kind
Solitary in my own crowd;
Solitary in my own crowd;
An individual in conformity,
A rebel in vacuity.

I am Man:

Lost in God's Universe.



Copyright 1960. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Duplication of this poetry without permission of the author is forbidden under copyright law.
Please ask permission if you wish to use it for non-commercial purposes.
PROSECUTORS WILL BE VIOLATED.

"I Am" was first published in Treasures of Parnassus, Copyright 1962 by Lincoln B. Young,
Young Publications, Appalachia, Virginia.

WASHINGTON SQUARE PHOTO from www.flickr.com/photos/jh/58001
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING PHOTO from www.greatbuildings.com
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PHOTO from photocollect.com/under400/washbrge.html
SUBWAY PHOTO from http://www.nycsubway.org/
STATUE OF LIBERTY TORCH PHOTO from www.libertystatepark.com/statueof.htm
ANDROMEDA NEBULA PHOTO from www.seds.org/messier/m/m031.html

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