A poem for the day after 9/11
On that day it didn’t matter
Who you were
Or where you were from
Or who you voted for
Or how you got here
Or where you were going
On that day it didn’t matter
If you were Black
Or White
Or Asian
Or Hispanic
Or Indigenous
Or Arabic
Or Another
We were one nation
Under attack
Helping each other
Out of the hot, twisted steel
Piled high
Where the towers
Only moments before
Pointed skyward
Staunch symbol
Of formidable strength
Crumpled in a heap
Hands searching,
Reaching for humanity
In the debris;
In the debris, reaching for humanity
Men, women, children
Image-bearers of God Most High
Stranger-friends
Forever bonded
By the shared hell
Of ash and metal and paper and people
Falling from the sky
#neverforget
But we have forgotten
On this day it matters
Who you are
Where you are from
Who you voted for
How you got here
Where you are going
On this day it matters
If you are Black
Or White
Or Asian
Or Hispanic
Or Indigenous
Or Arabic
Or Another
We are one nation
On the attack
Hurting each other
With hot, twisted words
Piled high
Where Hope
Lies mortally wounded,
Waiting
To point us skyward
Stark symbol
Of formidable strength
Crumpled in a heap
Angry
Accusations
Enrage
While justice cries
But we keep screaming
So we can’t hear her pleading,
“Where is the humanity
In this debris of insanity?”
Men, women, children
Image-bearers of God Most High
Suspicious strangers
Shouting
Hurt and anger and fear and judgment
Flying from our lips
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Help us remember
#neverforget
