'The people, down below,' a Brooklyn Bridge Poem

The people, down below

by Jordan Liles

I lost two friends

They were younger than I

90 years old I was

Standing watch nearly a century

When they came, outcasts

Ridiculed, rejected, my friends

A man brought a wire

And joy to the city

They were both so tall

Into the sky

28 years above my flags

So high into the sky

We watched together

The years below

The people

The city

Movements, moments

We saw them all

Strong we were

Together

One day

The anguish

My friends

They fell

I looked into the sky

The smoke, thick

Patient, I was

Waiting for my friends

The people, down below

Guided along

Past my towers

The crying, the tears

Looking for my friends

They were gone

I was alone

They were my friends

The others let me be

They, too, my friends

But not the same

Not for an old man like me

I was alone

28 years, gone

Down below, the people

The crying, but

The people were different

At first

Unity

Together, not apart

The crying

Passing with the wind

My flags in the wind

Stronger than before

One day, a sight

Where I looked for 28 years

Stronger, taller, as one

My friend had returned

I began to ask

My friend reassured me

No more smoke

Here to stay

Today we watch

Together

The people

The city

Out there

Something different

Division

Apart, not together

The lies

The hate

The selfishness

Like smoke

My flags

They fly

But not the same

Not like before

My friend asked why

What had happened

The people

Changed

I had seen it all before

The people, down below

And I’ll be damned

If America won’t rise again