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We’re thrilled to introduce you to a brand-new chapter in The Alembic’s history. For the first time ever, we’re offering an audio edition of the journal—an exciting new endeavor for 2025. In this edition, you’ll hear every written piece read aloud by Providence College students, bringing a new dimension and life to the written word.
Handle brick long enough
your hands grow
the dust embedded
Grandpa’s hands
with a coat that clings
cheap labor from Italy
But not his son
his hands blackened
from the newsprint
Night postal clerk
on his ride home
collects newspapers
one generation from dust
to newsprint—father
but less Italian—the hands
Next generation—the sons
schooled and schooled
become professors at N.Y.U.
the sons are Americans
their hands smooth yet
tired from turning pages
the sons will have children
hands almost unseen
only fingers pressing keys