Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven

~ by Paul Spreadbury ~

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven.
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait.
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying,"Let's sit, let's chat."

They settle down in seats of clouds.
A man named Martin shouts out proud,
"I have a dream!" and once he did.
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray,
Others in khaki and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine."
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear"
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom in a grave."
The Newcomer had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannis Port shores.

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day.

"Back on earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports,
Worked our gardens, sang our songs,
Went to church and clipped coupons,
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought.
Unlike you, great we're not."

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me."

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams,
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must.

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone.
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"

So said Martin, as he watched the scene,
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze.
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44.

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly.
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives,
Daughters and sons, and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong,
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you,
All of their lives, they'll never forget you.
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one."

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said,
"Take my hand," and from there he led
Five thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven.



One

~ by Cheryl Sawyer
Cheryl Sawyer is a professor at UH Clear Lake in the counseling department.

As the soot and dirt and ash rained down,
We became one color.
As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building,
We became one class.
As we lit candles of waiting and hope,
We became one generation.
As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno,
We became on gender.
As we fell to our knees for prayer and strength,
We became one faith.
As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement,
We spoke one language.
As we gave our blood in lines a mile long,
We became one body.
As we mourned together the great loss,
We became one family.
As we cried tears of grief and loss,
We became one soul.
As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes,
We become one people.

We are:
One color
One class
One generation
One gender
One faith
One language
One body
One family
One soul
One people

We are The Power of One
We are United
We are America

My sincere thanks to Moss Mallory for providing a site for gaphics for September 11 to be shared.


Thank you Lola for this graphic and for sharing your talent.

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