i
on September 11, 2001
four passenger missiles
rammed full with hate
pierced the heart
of America––
& America
died.
a deep crater
was blasted
into the New York City
earth––
the white-robed angel
of virtue escaped into the sky
on eagle wings––
conscience vanished
without a trace––
The un-controllable,
greedy, selfish,
ever-angry-ego-id
ran free
& amerika was
born.
poisons seeped
into the barrel-chested
atmosphere––
amerikans became
suspicious & needy––
their eyes dimmed
to beauty &
their countrymen.
the people got carried away
with their emotions
& lost their minds
went to war with countries
they never visited,
killing humans they never
saw, speaking languages
they could not name.
the people forgot
their sacred duty
to each other.
they lost the knack
of optimism,
the habits of kindness––
the generosity
of loving their neighbors
& trusting their friends.
their politics turned
crude, nasty &
divisive––
again again to war
& war & war––
bleeding life & lives
& treasure.
their politicians
began to lie
& their justices
became politicians.
the people lost their
hope––
as the rage & teargas
of uncivil war
went wafting around
their globe.
ii
now there are two great
cavities of loss
in Lower Manhattan
marking the footprints
of the grand towers
of America’s pride
& the end of the American
century––
here two titanic waterfalls
were named
“reflecting absence”––
the absence
of those lost––
but now we realize
the absence
of integrity &
character
in our nation
& our world.
& in those very depths
of absence
we glimpse ourselves
as kind & innocent
as we can be––
as brave
as humans
really are.
we are human––
beings of the earth
itself––
to her we owe
our lives
& singular
allegiance.
let us remember then,
the tenderness of caring,
the disciplines of respect
& the abiding love of life
that lifts our earth
towards heaven.
let us drop
our weapons
to free our arms
to embrace.
because we are
brave enough together
to dance on the edge
of a hopeless void
& laugh––
we laugh together
because we know––
the god within us
can make all
well.