A New Day

/ Jeff Cann

It’s a million pounds of marble.

It sits like a boulder
or a bomb-shelter
two blocks from the Square,
which is what we call the
town center even though it’s a circle.
Past the comic book store
and the candy shop
and the place that sells
expensive shoes from Sweden,
the century-old Federal Building
looms on the left shaming
every other property on the street.

Forty-foot columns and marble stairs
frame the grand entrance
no longer used, a more
utilitarian doorway waits
around the corner.
Nearby, larger than life and
weathered bronze, Abraham Lincoln,
his arm and chin pointed to the clouds,
stands sentry or dreams
or searches the sky
for the flying machines
soon to be so common
just fifty years hence.         

Inside, brass railings,
inlaid and molded, all fleurs-de-lis,
draw me up the winding stairway
to my office door.
The textured window
filters early morning light and
welcomes me to a new day.

23 thoughts on “A New Day”

  3. Look at you, flexing those writing muscles. I don’t know anything about poetry or ANY writing style for that matter, but I enjoyed reading this.
    All the times you’ve written about work, I had no idea you worked in a building like that. Very cool!

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    • It started as a post office (not sure why gettysburg needed a 14,000 sq ft post office. When Eisenhower had a heart attack while in office, he moved the whole white house operation to gettysburg while he recuperated. Our building served as the white house for a while. It’s a really pretty building but in need of a LOT of repair.

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  6. We have many pictures of family around that statue. I waved to you when I am there because I know you work there, although you are never in there when we are visiting. Bob stayed the night in Gettysburg this past weekend and did a 15-mile hike of the battlefield on Sunday. I did a mental wave of hello for him.

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    • Sunday I imagine. I was out running on the battlefield on Saturday. It was absolutely bitter. I haven’t toughed out an uncomfortable run like that in years. Sometime when you’re in Gettysburg and you want to skip a battlefield activity, we should grab a cup of coffee.

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      • I haven’t been in a while. Bob wanted to get up there because I think they are getting ready to close Little Round Top and Devil’s Den for a few months. When I make it up, I will reach out and see what you are up to.

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    • It’s flattering that you’ve taken the time to envision where I work. It’s a pretty cool building. When I first moved here, it struck me as *the* iconic building in town. That impression has faded but I still think it’s cool that I get to work here.

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