I shall not weep
in manner meek
nor raise my fist at God
I'll stop and think
and know I'm sure
before I plan my course.
I ask you, please
do not look towards me
for answers to our plight
I do not have the answers now
but you may rest assured
our Nation will withstand this test,
together we are strong.
I know within my heart
that we must bond as
we never have before
not one of us is able to
endure this grief alone.
Unity will be our strength
and prayer will be our haven
from this storm.
 
 

in the shadow of
the statue of liberty
ground zero
 

 
Do not despair, America
like the winds in the trees
there is the glitter of sunlight
upon the placid pond
where the stars gather at night

When the night sets in
there is the silence of sparrows
nesting in the leaves
where the moonlight
rustles upon their flightless wings

When the light
comes upon the morning sky
the rising sun
awakens the singing of sparrows
on this early summer day

When all seems bleak
like the coming of clouds at night
we will prevail
like the rising moonlight
flashing through the passing storm

On this peaceful morning
when the sparrows in flight
nest upon their young ones
there is sunlight
sparkling through the tree leaves

Let us not be sullen
but hopeful in times of crises
like the blazing sunlight
shining down at noon
upon the glittering sea

When the daisies
spring to early life
and flutter in the spring winds
let us love one another
like the flowers love the rain

This early morning
I woke to view the sunlight
upon the peaceful meadows
where the lovely flowers
fluttered upon the green grass

There will always
be the sunlight in our hearts
which will bring us hope
as long as the darkness of clouds
pass far beyond the horizon

Lay roses where you will
where the passing of souls
blow in the spring winds
and the daisies flutter
in memory of loved ones gone from us

America,
there will always be
a brighter day, a brighter sun
for all things pass
for a better tomorrow

Goodness in the heart
always prevails
in times of war and peace
where the clouds of evil
will disperse and the sunlight appears

There are always
more sunlit than rainy days
which the sprouting flowers
need to live in spring
or wither away in autumn

Throughout the galaxy
there are many sparks of light 
which glow at night
above our great nation
watching peacefully over us

An act of love
is greater than the sword
and greater still
than war or tribulation
which has come for another nation

 
the migratory bird—
just one world
for it
 

this tree's red blossoms
among green leaves
of its neighbour

I keep referring to it
as nine-one-one
there are no words
 

You didn't come home
The hand that was found
Was it yours?
What I loved in you
was more than body means
 

Did you lie down
holding one another
in your arms?
 

Did you fly 
from a window 
a flaming phoenix 
never to rise 
from ashes? 
 

Did you wait 
knowing 
no way out 
your throat closing 
around the smoke? 
 

Did you pray 
for help 
your hourglass 
running out 
of sand? 
 

What did you think 
that rumble was - 
floor upon floor 
piling down 
toward you? 
 

Do you lie whole 
in a concrete grave 
a flower pressed in stone 
or petals scattered 
like Osiris? 
 

doors locked 
stairs gone 
elevators not working 
flames chasing you 
the smell of gasoline 
 

I cannot 
picture you 
whole 
in parts 
reduced to ash 
 

afterwards 
the inner cry 
winds through my breath 
waits 
behind my eyes

— Peggy Heinrich, USA

I wanted 
Roosevelt's voice
to assure us,
after the conflagration,
after those multiple deaths
 

blacks moving
covered in soot
and dust,
victims again
in this world gone berserk
 

tears
and photos
and pleas for help—
the cliches evaporate
into humanity's voice
 

not a single bird
in those New York skies
as if, as if,
those hijackers
annihilated them too
 

staggering
those images
in my mind
of rescuers up flights and flights of stairs,
of victims hurling themselves down
 

the moment
I wake
from restless sleep,
I remember New York,
I remember wails
 

in this horrendous week
of collapse and death,
where's the sky gone?
and the flowers?
and the echoes of notes?

i will never 
complain about 
my life again ... 
watching the 
first tower collapse
 

donating money 
is such a 
small offering ... 
black smoke still rising 
from the demolished towers 

— Pamela A. Babusci, USA

september 11
all my tv's
on the same channel