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September 11 Final RitesXI: Final Rites
Always remember, never forget the tears you cried
On that day.
Never forget where you were, when you heard
Of the killings
Never forget how you felt
When it happened.
Never forget that many lives were lost
But what the cost?
Are our lives so sacred and mundane
How can we live live this way?
It's called insanity
To forget
What happened on that day?
To me is insane.
So many lost, so many lost.
I've talked to those who've known
Friends and family
I remember when I cried with Debra
When showing her my pictures.
Three weeks before it happened,
She had dinner with a fireman and his family.
Before she came back to Sioux City
He died, in the line of duty.
On this day, I pray.
ALWAYS REMEMBER
NEVER FORGET
9-11-01
This is dedicated to all those who've lost loved ones four years ago, and to our troops who defend us. Godspeed to you all. September 07 HeroesX: Heroes
How can you tell three thousand people
To find peace?
To know that they died for just living?
Many forget that not all were Americans
And I'm not talking about the hijackers.
To me, they are nothing but thugs.
Bravery and honor
Was shown that day,
Throughout the horror of it all.
Flight 93 fought back,
Knowing they were under attack.
They gave their lives to prevent other deaths
From an unknown target.
Those at the Pentagon got blindsided,
Of those who were most prepared,
We lost good men and women.
Serve our country was their only duty...
Those on the planes who managed to call their loved ones,
Or tried to comfort other passengers.
The pilots and others who fought the terrorists
All of them are heroes...
To their families.
And me.
The final part will be published Sunday. I can't even tell you what it is about.
All I know, I call it Last Rites. Fitting, since it's the fourth anniverssary of this event. HeroIX: Hero
Some of us have a calling for healing,
Like doctors and nurses, priests and nuns.
Some risk more by following a different course,
Such as policemen, firemen, or our military.
Some of us are artists, who divert us temporarily
From harsh reality. Some of us in the arts
Use our words, music and paintings,
To preserve history.
Others in sports show off their athleticism.
Others show us show us their courage
For just coming out.
Some of us defied the odds.
Living past expectancy of diagnosis.
Others came from the dead,
Two months later, are walking.
Others are little fighters (young and old) who
Press the odds
Others are the parents
Who just accepted their ailing child
For who they were.
But some of them died, and here is what I thought:
"As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone I felt a shadow cross my heart But he's nobody's hero Saves a drowning child Cures a wasting disease Hero...lands the crippled airplane Solves great mysteries Hero...not the handsome actor Who plays a hero's role Hero...not the glamour girl Who'd love to sell her soul If anybody's buying Nobody's hero Hero"
"Nobody's Hero"--Rush
Everyone needs a hero,
Whether personal or symbolic,
Down in New Orleans,
Heroes are needed to help them cope
To give them hope
I cry out to everybody,
Be somebody's hero.
September 05 Making PeaceVIII: Making Peace
Trying to explain how it feels walking someplace meaningful
Is so hard to do, as unless you have a frame of reference,
You simply cannot understand.
Chuck once told me that when he visited the wall
(The one in DC)
It healed his soul.
He and Jerry told me many stories of Vietnam.
Some were hurmorous as hell,
Like stealing a General's stash of steaks,
Or trying to smuggle out a a World War II era Japanese rifle
Some were combat stories, and both of them have told
Graphic stories about the smell of decaying bodies
Having to leave a friend.
Well, walking the streets of New York City for a week
And walking Ground Zero makes you humble
Knowing so many died on that spot
As I told my dad one the phone when he asked me,
"What does it look like?"
I said, "Looks like a fucking construction site."
Sometimes one must travel distances in order to make peace with themselves.
For ten months, I was mentally beside myself
I was in shock..steeled
But I knew i needed to heal.
September 02 A note about ShatteredI want to elaborate on this one, heheh.
I originally started writing Shattered to be a six part poem/lyric, and as you writer types know, things go out of control.
Originally, I began writing it about my experiences on 9-11-01 (which btw, is a very sacred day to me). I started to add more and more content and voices..both out of my control. i've revised pretty much my latest entries..so from here on out, I'm placing it in it's own category called Shattered if you new visitors/referrals want to view it.
Be safe, brothers and sisters. Shattered Part VIIVII Helpless
In the smoke and debris,
Cus there someone to find me?
I scream and yell, a man finds me
We move slowly down the stairs
Suddenly it sounds like thunder crashing upon me,
I lost my guide..I cry out but I cannot speak
Dust, smoke and concrete engulf my mouth
(I'm going to die here, I think)
Seconds seem like minutes
Minutes seem like hours
Hours seem like days
Days seem like weeks
Weeks seem like months
Months seem like years
Years seem like...
Eternity
As I raise my head, my hero grabs me up
We race to the exit, running as fast as we can
We get to the street
And we see it happen
First thing in my head is as I see it:
"London Bridge is falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My Fair Lady"
I was numb, until I heard the second rumble and fled from the horror:
And in my head, for some odd reason I thought as I ran away:
MLK
U2
Sleep
Sleep tonight And may your dreams Be realized If the thunder cloud Passes rain So let it rain Rain down on him So let it be So let it be Sleep Sleep tonight And may your dreams Be realized If the thundercloud Passes rain So let it rain Let it rain Rain on him September 01 Shattered Part VIVI: Walking the Valley of the Souls
Can you picture a time in your life?
That tears your soul apart?
But to be brave, and forcing yourself not to shead a tear?
To force yourself along your walk
To devistation?
To force yourself to look upon it
Without getting visibly sick?
To see overwhelming monuments of Holocaust?
To see where it is called a mass grave?
New York or Dachau
(No matter where it is?)
I cannot fathom such hatred
That led to something like this,
And for others to fail to see the danger
Of hijacking peaceful teachings?
Has Europe learned? From Madrid to London or in
World War II?
(Have we learned?)
That no one is safe from violation?
Infiltration?
Desolation, or for temptation?
to kill one's own blood brothers?
When will they wake up?
(When will the world wake up to hatred?)
For me, I've walked a valley of souls
Some three thousand death toll
Others more have from a different era
All innocent victims
Destroyed by utter hatred
Of just plain
Existance.
Walk the Valley of Souls
Walk the Valley of Souls
(Walk it and you will understand)
Walk your own soul
And I hope to wonder if you'll understand
That the Eye (your eye) is in the
Eye of the Beholder
T-minus eleven days, eight ouhrs, twenty-three minutes
August 28 Shattered VV. Lonely Journey
I walked alone knowing
Others who couldn't undestand what
Was going on in my head.
I spoke out, saying things I should not
Have said
Generalizations
I felt complete hatred
For a race of people
But yet, I never lashed out
And I never will.
Being calm in your mind
Helps you analyze
All the things that don't make fucking sense
We try to make it make sense
Understand and respect
Other creeds, religions
Don't use violence
To solve your needs
Respect others' opinions
On life, and politics
God graces us
And our path
And my path to Him
Is through Wisdom
I hear the bagpipes play
"Amazing Grace"
I follow my path.
I've walked My Valley of Darkness
And I still believe
All I ask is, have you walked yours?
in order to understand and believe?
Life is precious
And so is FREEDOM.
August 27 Shattered (IV)IV. Feelings, Redux
Secretly inside, I was dying
I couldin't cope..didn't have the time
Too busy helping others understand
What happened that day.
Someone at work said
"Let's send Skippy with the Flag in the front"
Knowing my handicap. Muriel was joking, I was not.
I said this in a serious voice,
"Damn straight I will"
My friend Heath came to me and said:
"Dude, you scared us. Fire was in your eyes."
I tried for a third time to join, and even asked others would go
Some said they wouldn't go unless drafted
Piss on em
Even the vets I knew who were spit on wanted to go.
Then, that Saturday, I finally broke down
Called my mom and just cried, "WHY?"
Got severely drunk..left a message on my brother's
Answering machine crying
Then at 5pm, I walked to my friend
Who on that day I comforted
And just let him hold me, and cried, and let it out
Not a word spoken between us
He understood completly
Note:
This poem won't end until 9-11-05. This has affected me way too much.
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS EVERYWHERE Shattered Part II and IIIII. That Day
Consistant knocking on my door
Awoke me from my slumber
My friend just said when I opened the door:
"Someone fucking blew up America."
It was noon, he knew I worked nights, so did he
Same shift, was my ride
I woke up my roomate, turned on the television
Such horror. My friend said
"Southern Hills is closed. No work today."
He was numb, I remained calm.
But secretly, I was numb.
We went out to eat, to think,
On the radio I remember hearing
Hate and impulsive race crimes were happening
Against innocent people
In response to the horror
Forced my friend, who didn't drink to have a beer.
He was rattled needed calm
Strangely, I was calm.
III. Analytical
Saw the Northern Alliance fire their rockets
Molly asked, "Why have responded so fast?"
I said, "It wasn't us..."
Clancy once wrote in The Sum of all Fears:
Everyone reverts to education and natural response, to paraphrase
Amazingly calm through the storm
I was surveying the situation as
Though I was in the military, or as a history and English major
(The latter two I was)
By learned trade
Who? I knew of Osama.
When made sense.
So did the where.
Why? Hatred for US.
How? Still to be decided.
Shattered Part OneShattered
I. Feelings
Falling apart at the seams
What is real? What is fantasy?
Seeing what I've
seen, have you seen it?
Horror from above and below
Need to see it, so you understand.
Understand those who've seen it
Respect or deny it
To me, it was a hole
A symbol.
Monument. |
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