The Mole Vol XIX

The New York poems are observations of the city during the 1980s. Back then, this poet was a frequent rider of the IRT No. 2 Southbound train on which the shooting incident occurred. I remember composing many poems on the ride to and from work. After the tragedy, one had to be aware of one's surroundings. It became difficult to write under such circumstances. So, I stopped using the Subway for a month and bought a used car. Forty years later, I recall how the incident impacted many people and race relations in the city. Some thought the shootings were racially motivated. At the same time, others believed that it was simply a matter of self-defense. In such situations, it is difficult to tell what goes on in people's minds when they feel threatened. Could the confrontation have been dealt with more rationally and peacefully.? Could a compromise have yielded a different outcome? These questions, I suppose, will never be answered.

This poem is based on a New York City subway train incident on December 22, 1984. A 37-year-old man shot and fatally wounded five youths who he claimed tried to rob him. All five youths survived the shooting. But one of them was left paralyzed from the waist down from his injuries. After the shooting, the perpetrator fled to Bennington, Vermont, surrendering to police eight days later. He was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, attempted murder, and other firearm offenses.