BOSTON — Liam Day is writing a series of poems inspired by riding the MBTA bus routes. In each poem, like the view from each bus ride, his passing look at the city tells us something about what it means to be human.
Day explores the meanings of the word moraine while riding No. 214 and contemplates how our human-made landscape also changes over time. While taking the No. 15 to Haymarket, Day spies some withered fruit and ruminates on our own aging and mortality, while on the No. 10, a view of the Hancock’s lit offices becomes a persistent reminder of the daily grind. Sitting on the No. 43, coasting past the State House and civil war memorial, is a meditation on the tension between 21st century living and the sacrifices our ancestors made to put us here. In all these works we get a deeper understanding of our city, an appreciation for its glorious and grimy parts, and a sense of how remarkable an ordinary bus trip can be.
Day shared some more of his bus route poetry with us to put on view:
