By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2021

First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind on April 26, 2021

Dedicated to Arshay Cooper, Preston Grandberry, Malcolm Hawkins, Ray “Pookie” Hawkins and Alvin Ross, members of the Manley High School Rowing Team and Chicago Sprint Silver Medalists

Plying through the river,
stroke by stroke they row,
sleek above the surface,
avoiding undertow;

Four men reunited,
teammates long ago,
survivors of the West side
of their hometown Chicago;

In high school they assembled
as the first-black rowing team
boys from rival gangs,
now brothers with a dream;

With moms and children watching
loved ones cheering from the shore,
racing with Chicago PD
they were taught to abhor;

Former children of the hood,
now family with police,
rowing in the same boat,
in harmony and peace;

Overcoming broken families,
some with scars of serving time,
successful business founders,
rising up from life’s grime;

Garnering silver medals
in Chicago’s rowing sprints,
paving hope to worthy goals,
to inspired living, testaments.