Shortly before the cleaning and restoration of the Iconic Guardians in front of the New York Public Library began, a friend asked when I would write a poem about the Lions. Here is my poem for Patience and Fortitude followed with before and after photos of the glorious restoration!
Two Poems by the Piccirilli Brothers
on a Theme by Edward Clark Potter
― for Professor Stephen Wolf
Patience and Fortitude as they are known
are two iconic poems made of stone,
the guardians for over a century
at the New York Public Library.
As I often muse on their heraldries
I have pondered upon their qualities,
wondering what is of greatest importance ―
their royal form or their solid substance?
Certainly the stone of which they are made
is the essential element they portray
and what demonstrates patience and fortitude
more than what those solid stones constitute?
Yet just to endure is no assurance
something will be held in reverence.
Longevity is not essentially
what anoints these two with nobility.
So some may argue that it is the form
that is carved out with craft and not inborn.
A wise eye recognizes the prime block
to find the shape embedded in the rock.
There are refined skills of experience
and gifts to coax a lifelike appearance
through the labor of hammer and chisel,
so both strength and touch make the perfect finish.
Yet when one considers this little puzzle
neither one could exist without the other.
Form without substance would be fantasy
and substance alone is rudimentary.
So if asked whether form or substance makes the worth
the answers is clear ― what’s required is both,
just as these two lions are perfect complements
to prove the Piccirillis’ excellence.
Garrett Buhl Robinson © 2019
Work Begins September 2019
November 1, after the restoration. 
Patience’s vigilant gaze. 
The couchant guardian Fortitude gloriously restored!
