9-11
On that beautiful morning
With a tease of tender Autumn in the air
The unthinkable happened,
And our world stopped turning.
I saw the plane, I saw the fire
I saw the smoke descend –
A blanket of blinding grief
Too late to spare those on the ground
The sight of Armageddon.
–
Mortar-grey people transformed
Into gritty moving statues,
Holding hands, blinded by smoke,
Moved down streets where
Paper, bricks, metal, glass rained down
Like the Devil’s Ticket Parade,
Walked in silence towards the bridges,
Barely a moan heard I am told,
A nightmare Exodus on this
Morning of such seasonal promise.
–
I saw worse.
I saw people jump
From the ledges holding hands,
Some clutching briefcases
And all I could do
Was howl:
–
“I will catch you!
Jump into my arms
I will not drop you.
Do not be afraid,
Aim for my embracing arms,
With the last of my life—
I will catch you.”
–
That day of fire and ash,
Inexplicable funeral pyre,
Of brave souls rushing in
And frightened ones rushing out
And the ash, the ash, the ash,
Covered everything like a silent September snow.
–
Ten years later
Still grieving, this day approaches,
And I hear the words well up in me:
–
“We will catch you!
Jump into our arms,
We will not drop you.
You will not be forgotten,
With the last of our breath–
We will catch you.”
–
Jane Kohut-Bartels
Copyrighted, 9-11-2011
Tags: 2001, A national day of mourning, a poem, dversepoets.com, September 11
September 11, 2011 at 12:27 am
A very moving poem, Jane, and a heartfelt memorial to that tragic and horrific day.
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September 11, 2011 at 1:13 am
Jane, a nice write…we all wish …. They will never be forgotten .
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September 11, 2011 at 2:29 am
Hello Ayala,
Thank you, sweetie, for reading and your comment.
No, they will never be forgotten.
Lady Nyo
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September 11, 2011 at 2:34 am
Hi Nick,
This was hard to write, on one hand, and easy on the other. In this country, we can’t forget all of this, because we don’t want to. I remember standing there, that bright and beautiful morning, here the weather was as good as there, 1200 miles away, and watching that second plane smash into the tower.
I remember the shock of it all, coming originally from New Jersey, where I was raised, not far at all from this scene of horror. I remember those days, weeks and then into the months, where there were no tears left, just the horror of it all, and we couldn’t turn away from the tv. Something went deep into the collective DNA of our nation that day. It was horror and hope, not hatred.
At least not later so much. But fear is very much present right now.
Thank you, Nick, for reading and writing a comment. I am honored, dearest of friends.
Jane
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September 11, 2011 at 9:28 pm
That morning, we had gotten up a little late and I was just boiling the water for the first pot of tea. The TV was on, watching the “Today Show” when they were interrupted with the news. Roger and I sat, with empty cups in our hands, for what seemed like days. When we finally ventured out off of the mountain, there were flags everywhere, and everyone we spoke to shared in the horror of that moment.
This beautiful poem captures my emotions of those first terrible minutes and serves as a little poke at complacency. I love that it does that. We must all remember.
Margie
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September 11, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Hi Margie!
I just love reading what people were doing that morning. I can see you and Roger very clearly….
It was a shock, and it remains to be. I just hope there is nothing to take it’s place in the coming days.
Yes, I agree about complacency. We all need a jolt in the brain pan unless we forget what all those lives were lost for.
Thank you, coz, for reading and your insightful comment.
Love,
Jane
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September 12, 2011 at 4:03 am
Thank you for a powerful reminder of faith. The Faith to jump believing someone will be there to catch us.
You touched my heart today…thank you.
Hugs,
CZ
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September 12, 2011 at 11:34 am
Thank you, CZ.
Faith is what we need in our nation today. The faith that we are a united community, there for all who suffer. That what happened will not divide us.
Your own writing and that on your website heals the suffering of many and gives support and encouragement.
Thank you, CZ, for what you do for a very large community.
And thank you for reading this poem and your lovely comment.
Hugs,
Jane
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September 13, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Moving post.. like this lines – a contrast of images :
“And the ash, the ash, the ash,
Covered everything like a silent September snow.”
Your refraining words worked very well ~ thanks for sharing this ~
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September 13, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Always a hard memory, and the hardest part is that we can do so little despite the wish to do so much. Your picture of the ash as snow is evocative of that frozen numbness we all felt–a winter of the heart.
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September 13, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Wonderful tribute and faithful sentiments from start to end. The day truly will never be forgotten.
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September 13, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Jane this is a beautiful poem honoring the dead, the living, all of us who remember, who wished we could have caught and held and protected the fallen. I was talking with a man who worked three blocks from the towers the other day…he told me his story, and it was as though I was there with him, mourning friends he had lost, wading through the ash as he got off the bus that morning in shock.
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September 13, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Hello Laura,
Thank you. This event touched every part of our nation. This poem actually began 5 years ago, deep in the mind, when a childhood friend, Jerry, walked across a bridge or in a Tunnel, (Brooklyn? Holland) with this exodus, covered in ash, no sound at all, except the occassional moan, and he walked for 13 hours to New Jersey turnpike.
The inestimable grief and loss of life!
Thank you, Laura…
Jane
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September 13, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Hi Pat.
Agreed. Thank you so much for reading and your comment.
Jane
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September 13, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Hedgewitch,
That is exactly what it was….a winter of the heart.
Thank you, sweetie, for reading and your comment.
Jane
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September 13, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Hi Heaven,
Thank you, sweetie, for reading and your comment.
We shall never forget. It’s not possible.
Jane
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September 13, 2011 at 10:56 pm
gosh this is so haunting…i will catch you…i will not let you drop…that day was surreal enough for me but you have added to it…great write lady nyo
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September 13, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Thank you, Brian.
These horrific things haunt. They put everything else in proper perspective.
Thank you for reading and your comment, Brian.
Lady Nyo
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September 14, 2011 at 1:08 am
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Beautiful Poem…. Thank you….
Watching them jump was the worst thing I’ve ever seen…..
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September 14, 2011 at 1:46 am
Your refrain resonates. When 9/11 happened I had the inclination to help those who left this world so quickly and in terror.
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September 14, 2011 at 2:32 am
Joan,
I was in such shock, all I could do is watch for months…cry and hand sew quilts in my lap.
All of that was terrifying, and we can only imagine what those that died felt.
Bless you.
Jane
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September 14, 2011 at 2:34 am
John,
I was watching them from tv….I can’t think how it was for those there that witnessed all of this.
Yes, the horror of it all is deep in our minds. We should never forget.
Thank you, John, for your very beautiful and sensitive gesture.
Lady Nyo
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September 14, 2011 at 2:39 am
Stunning
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September 14, 2011 at 2:53 am
Thank you, Marousia.
Sometimes words get in the way, and sometimes there are not enough of them.
Thank you for reading and your comment.
Lady Nyo
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September 14, 2011 at 3:26 am
Lady Jane, you write a moving and descriptive scenario. Only thing is–it was REAL! You–as most of us–watched through tears in horror, as that day and days after, unfolded. But you write as if you were standing there. I love your response to those who had to jump, punctuated by:
I will catch you
I will catch you…
We will catch you
we will catch you.
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September 14, 2011 at 7:31 am
Two a.m. in Colorado and this poem ripped my heart out. I’ve tackled this too with something of the same kind of immediacy. What I admire about this write is that you don’t shrink back from putting yourself there and then the intense I will catch you. We don’t know where to put these things, that we are all so powerless over. If only we could have caught them. The more I hear about all the dropped balls in this the deeper my combined rage and anguish. xxxj
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September 14, 2011 at 11:00 am
With you, Jenne’,
There is almost no words that can satisfy this issue…the horror is too deep and too close to the surface…always.
The “I will catch you” comes from that place were we are so powerless. And yes, Jenne’, if ONLY we could have caught them.
Thank you, Jenne’, for reading and for your very insightful comment.
Hugs,
Jane
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September 14, 2011 at 11:03 am
Hi Steve E!
It had to move from an individual response to a collective response.
I wasn’t there, but we all were. I do remember years later, a childhood friend, Jerry, who walked out of NY and through a tunnel ??? bridge??? all the way to NJ turnpike. I think he told me it took 13 hours to get home to Princeton. Covered with ash, and as he moved, barely a sound, a moan, could be heard. This poem originated from his experience…and didn’t come to light until now. Some times the horror of something goes so deep, that words can’t be collected.
Thank you, Friend Steve, for reading and your lovely comment.
Hugs,
Jane
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September 14, 2011 at 5:09 pm
The horror and loss of that day,..so awful, replayed in a loop to rock all of us to the core and you capture it here so tenderly, your arms outstretched in love, compassion, and hope and now ten years on celebrating the losses and the survivors, the prayers for a country who can surmount anything, everything if instead of pulling apart, we conciliate, listen, and search within ourselves to find the values that bind us. Lovely memorial. G.
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September 14, 2011 at 6:26 pm
In a way I hope we never stop grieving a bit, lest what happened be forgotten.
I watched some of the footage last week, and some of the recreations. It was incredibly horrific what happened. And the human spirit that shone forth to help in the aftermath was incredible too.
This poem is excellent. Lady Nyo — are you Jane Kohut-Bartels? I do love getting to know my bloggin’ buds!
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September 14, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Hey Jannie!
Yes, I am the same….LOL!
Agree….as horrible as this event was, it did do something….to bring our nation together. I never felt so…”American” as within that time. And I also agree that we need to keep our grief. How can we forget it?
Jane
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September 14, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Thank you, Gay.
I couldn’t have written this then, I had to ‘grow’ into it. We have matured into a better nation, regardless what is said. I think this event rocked us to the core.
Thank you, Gay….always, for reading and your lovely, insightful comment.
Hugs,
Jane
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October 6, 2011 at 2:02 am
These images are never erased, Lady Nyo – unbelievable trauma and horror – I have just visited the Memorial and to see all the names and the little trinkets that are attached to some of them just gives an overwhelming sense of sadness – I cannot even imagine the pain of the families whose loved ones died on that day
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