as i: 9/11 Recollections

9/11 Remembered

as i bathed in the ashes

of a swirling monstrous din

the cries of  a woman

hysterically expunging

ghastly portions of an all

consuming horror

pierced my ears,

cuddled my heart

as i huddled in a corner

biting lacerated knees

i beheld ax wielding

firemen swagger into the

jagged dangers of a

metallic avalanche, its

voracious maw

swallowing last 

acts of heroic love

as i genuflected toward

Trinity's steeple,
i was cowed by
the rushing noise
of a splintering tower
collapsing downward, 

billowing outward, 
a gray predation

scattered the proud

humbled the mighty

breed terror

threshing anything

fearfully racing

through the city's 

cavernous breaches

as i fled down

Wall Street 

screaming adrenalin 

outran bits of the city

cascading down

stalking, nipping,

gnashing at fleeting steps

chasing reeling refugees

into miraculous sanctuaries
shielding trembling confusion

in blanket's of grace

as i peered into

the mortal wound
of the South Tower

incomprehensibly wondering
what my eyes refused to

understand; a slow

astonishing epiphany

of the grisly hell unfolding
in the upper floors

was confirmed by the 

intermittent slow

cascade of leapers

deciding it was

a good day to die

as i decamped 

temporary refuge

i entered an unsure

midnight of a blackened

street joining a growing mass

of refugees trundling eastward,

our burning eyes yearning

to perceive a river of escape

hoping the bits of torn cloth will

shield nostrils and cover mouths 

protecting tinged lungs from

emulsified ash of glass 

and asbestos laden air 

as i made my way

northward, enveloped

in ambivalent confusion,

shell shocked  by civic turmoil,

covered in terror dust;

amassing voyeurs
rushing downtown
 incredulously asked
what we witnessed, 

a Jersey Journal stringer
refused to believe
people jumped

from the upper floors,
as vendors in Chinatown
marked up bottles of water
and a barkeep of a
crowded SOHO saloon
refused me entry

to use the
bathroom fearing
contamination risk...

as i stood depleted

on Christopher Street

ATMs and wireless

phones out of service and

my PATH way home
shut down;
a Sisters of Charity
AIDS hospice
brought me in,
wiped the terror dust 

from my clothes, 
gave me grape juice to drink,
set me a bed for the night
and put me to work 

in the kitchen
to feed God's children.

as i stood on

a late afternoon

Washington Street,

witnessing Seven WTC

plunge into another raging billow
the collapsing day ended
in a room shared with
a young man traumatized
by the days events.

We related our
halting incomprehensions
as the sound of fighter jets

circling the city filled
the void in our
disjointed narratives.

My roommate related
that he was on the plaza
as jumpers splattered around him.  

A tearful PA Cop pleaded for help
to cover the dead.  

It was the last request of this
trembling public servant
as a jumper crushed him
as he finished speaking. 

as i fell off to sleep that night
my young roommate
 tossed and turned
in the maelstrom of
a deeply troubled sleep.
  

Music Selection:

Philip Glass Koyaanisqatsi

9/10/13

Oakland

jbm

Reviews

[Maria]

Wow, this was truly intense, and it made me recall that day, as I saw it happen, through CNN. Heart wrenching and raw. I heard the stories, about those that decided it was better to jump than to burn....Truly that day, will always be embedded in my heart and soul. My daughter was barely, 5 months old, when this took place. So of course she does not recall anything. War, hate and anger, seeking revenge, has caused much division for sure.
What happened, we cannot stop or go back and change but from this we must all get up and learn to unite, in spite of difference of opinion, religion and or even race....16 years have gone by and more attacks have unfolded else where.
Death, respects nothing, whether young or old. And in the end, I choose to live in love and hope, in order to ensure a better future for my daughter, as she nears her 18 years of age. Powerful and well done.

[riskrapper]

Thank you for reading this piece....I like to say about that day that in the morning I witnessed the worst in humanity...by the evening I witnessed the best...ironically both actions were informed by what was perceived as God's will...in the end love overcomes hate..Thanks again for your comments...