There in a City,
OUR Jersey City
The Jersey Journal : Article published on 7/2/13
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Below is the text of the inaugural Poem, "THERE IN A CITY, OUR JERSEY CITY,"
which Melida Rodas read at the swearing-in of Mayor Steve Fulop.
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Rodas, a graduate of New Jersey City University, said she wrote the poem specifically for Fulop's inauguration, and then sent him a letter asking him to consider letting her read it during the ceremony.
A Guatemalan immigrant, Rodas said she is filled with "gratitude and joy" after delivering the poem to thousands at yesterday's event.
"I could hardly believe that moment when I looked onto an ocean of people," she said.
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THERE IN A CITY, OUR JERSEY CITY
by: Melida Rodas
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Somewhere in this city is a garden...
tended by a group of hands
gathered together to make things bright
Somewhere in this city
is a young man
tying a winsor knot
centering it,
letting the fabric fall,
gracefully
before heading off to his first day of work
his dreams he carries in his back pocket
Somewhere is this city
is a mother
belonging to a family of two
fastens the laces of a young girl's shoes
gives a kiss
watches her back pack disappear
into the door ways of a school
the image of her little one
stays with her
"be safe" says she to herself
runs between one job and another
simply happy to make the rent.
Somewhere in this city
is an elderly woman
sits on her porch watching the cars zoom by,
listens to their music
thinking "my how things have changed"
in her parlor are medals
and portraits,
photos of the war.
What war?
All wars, for they are all the same
her sun dress decorated with flowers
fades in the sun
but not her hopes
"Today is a gift"
Somewhere in this city
is a school filled with children testing,
building stories,
memories,
bridges
from one hemisphere of the brain to the other,
like a glorious electrical storm
Later resting on their heads
on the pillows in their beds
where their reveries take flight
Oh to be
a doctor
a poet
more than just
a dreamer
a doer,
a leader
one day.
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Somewhere in this city
is a young lawyer
she has recently passed the bar exam
her shiny black shoes float into the court room,
at last an opportunity to make things. just,
or at the very least
begin to make a change
Somewhere in this city
is a laborer
picking up a hammer to build
a house,
a home,
an architect has laid out plans
for a new space
where a family will finally
reside
decide on paint and tile
have a place to finally hang
their
hats
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Somewhere in this city
is an artist
picking up a pencil,
a camera,
a brush
documenting
Us,
you,
them
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"All art is political... is it not?"
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Someone will ask.
"It is for you to answer not I"
And yet....
Some art is not pictures
hung perfectly on a wall
it is the art of life itself
moments of clarity,
good judgment
and
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FREEDOM
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it is as poetic as
the terms of art
used in legal documentation
proclaiming a new liberty,
a new era,
a new way of looking at things,
another chance to make things right.
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One right hand folds
over the left
help one another
in a garden
one plants seeds
the other
waters earth
Our time here
on this planet earth is
faster, faster, faster
more precious
than ever.
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Let us zoom in on this country
closer still, onto our Garden State,
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There in a City, Our Jersey City
these are the portraits,
yours and mine.
This is OUR TIME,
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It begins with togetherness,
HOPE
and the love for what is
OURS
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