A NEW BEGINNING...  Approximately 1,300 well-wishers crowded into a Tampa Convention Center ballroom to watch Pam Iorio take the oath of office as Tampa's 55th Mayor.  At the event, James Tokley, Tampa's poet laureate, read a poem written for the ceremony, "A New Beginning,'' about social inclusiveness replacing the exclusiveness of the past:

A New Beginning

For that which paints the Tampa sky...
Downtown spires that dazzle our eyes...
Well-kept parks where our children run...
Ports, airports exceedingly done,
We thank the rhythm of yesterday's drums!
But a new drum beckons!
Let it come!

A different sound to shape the beat
of dreaming minds and marching feet!
A new beginning, snare-drum sound...
Glass ceiling-shattered... upward bound...
Inclusive, syncopated step,
Recruiting marchers, right and left,
We celebrate a new parade
where none are forgotten, in the shade...
where no bystanders have to watch
while pride and privilege get to march!

This is a new day, in the sun!
A New Beginning!
Let it come!
'Said, let it come, with dancing feet
that purify these Tampa streets...
that bring with them a sense of how
we all are worthy, here and now!

So, let it come...
The New Beginning
Hurry, bring the artists home!
Someone, tell all our musicians, "Tampa needs you, Come on home!"
Hurry, tell folks in Port Tampa, Suitcase City, Belmont Heights
to strap them on their dancing sneakers
Tampa's stepping out, tonight!

For, this will be our new beginning,
Hand-in-hand, for the world to see...
that Tampa is a place for living,
Modern and magnificently!
So, let it come,
The New Beginning!
Let it speak its Espanol
Let it walk its hip-hop language
dipped in Afro-urban soul
Let it speak its Asian language
Let it sprechen zie, in Deutsche
Let the neighborhoods of Tampa
mingle with a fam'ly voice!
Let it be a sweet safe-haven
for the ones whose eyes have seen
The oak-lined avenues of Tampa,
When the trees were young and green!

And let the noble men and women,
in good faith, who keep us safe,
review their knowledge that we love them,
in this good, progressive place!

So, let it come, the New Beginning
Let the healing start, a-new!
Let's celebrate, in great thanksgiving,
New Beginning, overdue!
And in our hearts, let all be joyous,
as we tender yesteryear
Then turn to face the task before us...
No more dreams!
Our day is here!

James E. Tokley Sr.
April 1, 2003