Dragonfly~

a 9/11 remembrance~

If I were a dragonfly

Could my body stop a tragedy

If I were a dragonfly

Could I carry all the people from the smoke

If I were a dragonfly

Could my wings hold up the buildings

 

Brother was there

For the jumpers

He tried to will them to fly

 

But they weren’t dragonflies

 

If I were a dragonfly

Sifting dust and ash

From my wings on a burning windowsill

Would a man’s tears

Be enough to quench this strange fire

 

If I were a dragonfly . . . .

But I’m just a human girl with a cellphone

Imprinting Brother’s voice

Inhaling Brother’s breathing

Across the lines

 

 

copyright:2001vssmd

all rights reserved~

Author's Note

on Sept. 11, 2001, I was to join my brother for dinner that evening in Manhattan~he is a financial analyst~on that day he was presenting a workshop when the first Plane hit~ it took me an hour to finally hear his voice~ it was the longest hour of my life~ I wrote this that night~ it took ten years for me to finally open it again~ what a world

Reviews

[David W Moore III]

It was surreal enough watching it unfold with no connection to the drama. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like with a loved one there. If wishes and prayers could have been made into solid form, the city of New York would have been buried miles deep.

[w2de35657u687y4324rf]

With a 24 hour life span how much of a difference can really be made?
I enjoyed the part about the wings sifting dust and ash. You can definitely see the stress and affliction of the writer in these lines. Your mind was really off someplace full of flam-- beautiful mind.

[Robin]

that day will never need bumper sticker for me to remember , as I watched it unfold from the newspaper pressroom . a day that began with a shout from our editor, "something hit a building! " then to watch those words cascade from surreality into hard reality as details develop into stunned horror . the AP wire flooded with incoming images and stories - so many stories , yet so many unheard .

thank you for sharing yours .

[Siddhartha]

Oh, only a dragonfly could indeed be so lovely indeed and sisterly affection could give wings to heart's calling....

[LilyT]

Your voice resounds much like an angel's fresh out of her cocoon. Like Reese said, a pure voice, straight from a fierce little heart.

If I were a dragonfly

Sifting dust and ash

From my wings on a burning windowsill

Would a man’s tears

Be enough to quench this strange fire

[Ed Hart]

oh dragonfly, oh quick flit flame of heart, oh dragonfly

[Larry Dyson]

truly I feel as inefective and out of place as a Dragonfly does in this world of non-natural thinking and doing....nice write..

[Reese38]

It's the child like quality, the innocent voice narrating, which gives this particular arrangement one of the deepest emotional impacts I've ever experienced from a poem.



If I were a dragonfly

Could my body stop a tragedy

If I were a dragonfly

Could I carry all the people from the smoke

If I were a dragonfly

Could my wings hold up the buildings




Your voice is pure. Your styles cover such a vast ground, you never fail to surprise.