9.11.2001

Written in, I believe, December of 2001. Probably the only rhyming poem I've ever written that I can stand to look at today.

Smoky grey monster running through the streets
Drowning crying hearts and tired feet
Pausing only for tears and blood
So many people caught beneath the flood
NEWS FLASH: Perfection is no more.
But atop the rubble, our flag does soar.
It sways gently, only peace to be found
So serene, so calm, yet there’s chaos around
Red, white, and blue in an ocean of fear
Stay behind the caution tape, for evil’s been here
Too many people didn’t get to end it right
Didn’t get to live, now they have lost this fight.
They grabbed the closest hand, knowing they were about to die
They drifted slowly downward as they said their last goodbye.
The little children, too young to understand
That foreign evils dared to set foot upon our land
Thousands of people working until the fire blew
What would she have said to him if she only knew
Would she have cried with him, or told him to move on?
He’ll never know now, in an instant she was gone.

Calm your wild thoughts, for help is on the way
At least that’s what they told us before all hope gave way
Trapped beneath the rubble lie heroes who lived to save
Our nation cried for them, gave them more than a concrete grave

Our hearts have turned to stone
The anger and the hatred’s grown
One foolish action and we’ve turned on our own

History shouldn’t repeat itself, don’t add any more to the count
Love your neighbor, love your foe, that’s what we say we’re all about
By the light of candle, the smoke begins to clear
And although time has passed, we’re still living with the fear

The Pastor cried on Sunday, but I now see things the way should you
We must forgive the guilty, for they know not what they do.

I know they can’t be here, for they’re oceans apart
I hate their evil actions but forgive them in my heart.