Boston, April 15, 2013

[Reilley]

A Spring afternoon racing marathon miles -
a crowd thick with families, runners and smiles,
shocked and bloodied by the burst of bomb’s twin blast
decimating the thrill of the finish line to be passed,
forever marking the moment when we collectively cried
as innocents were bloodied, were damaged, and died.

When roar of crowds and victories cheers
turn to blistered rage and painful tears -
when a moment where valiant struggles end
is broken by flesh as it burns and rends -
then the flash of a coward’s malicious act
highlights a city’s strength as fact.

And in the drifting smoke’s noxious gloom -
instead of the terror the heinous act assumes,
the fire that burns in every patriot’s breast
ignites heroism in the strongest and the best,
driving moments of humanity and heart
that refuse to allow us to be torn apart.

A tradition that’s lived more than a hundred years
will outlive a moment of a madman’s fears.
A city that has known two centuries of time,
its citizens stronger than any single act of crime,
will never bow down to the jackboot of fear –
the race will see a lot more runners next year.

Attachments:

[Daniel Mark Extrom]

Hi Reilley,

Well said and well done.  It doesn't seem a year already. 

I like this line especially:  "then the flash of a coward’s malicious act /
highlights a city’s strength as fact."




My daughter is a student at BU, as you know, and I had told her that since there was no school on Patriot's Day/Marathon Day, that she should go and watch a bit of the marathon.  She had seen me run three in Chicago.  Of course, when I heard the news I was scared for her and could not reach her on the cell because everyone in America was trying to reach someone in Boston and all the satellites were overwhelmed.  She was jogging herself about a mile away and heard the blasts without of course then knowing what it was.  She soon found out.

At my high school reunion a few months ago, I talked to a girl (okay, we are long past "boys and girls") who was 3 blocks from the finish line when the bombs went off, which meant that she was running a really good time for her, but her friends were supposed to be waiting for her at the finish. Fortunately for them, they were late.

A terrible day, but Boston remains strong.

(BTW, my daughter's BU a cappella group sang the Star Spangled Banner at last Sunday's Red Sox game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Pretty cool, I think.)

[Reilley]

It was sweet to have an American win it this year, first time since '83, there was some maudlin stuff, but mostly very upbeat.

Security was tighter than a gnat's bum, they shut almost the entire route down the night before.

I actually got a bar-tending gig when a party had to relocate because of it. :-)

Watched it unfold in Newton, and there was a lot of spectator support this year.