Bronze

Christopher Columbus Monument, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, 2014

Within the makeshift grid of scaffolding The cast-bronze statue gleams:          a figurehead

Pried from its ship, jaw set, riding The crest of the concrete pedestal,

While underneath on the scrolling waves And chiseled rows of inscription

The words murderer and stolen land Taunt the base of the monument, the spray—

Paint’s dripping script legible but faint— A verdict they’ve been trying to scrub

All week,   the crews who’ve been at it, Hazmatted in masks and rubber gloves.

On deck, dead reckoning, Columbus Stands his ground again, sanitized above us.