9/11/2001 A day we will never forget

Planes crashing into buildings
in pictures from a disaster film
before our actual eyes
On the small screen filling our homes and offices
with scenes of terror so horrifying
they must be simulated

NO!  they are real!
Unable to comprehend
how anyone willingly could commit
these brutal acts of terror
Yet these images of harsh reality
become etched into our memory
As we watch the destruction
of a way of life

My concern for 3 year old son and my daughter at college
pulls me from the barrage of images on the screen in my office
and back into the reality of our day
He’s too young to know what has happened
yet sensing the anxiety in the air

When he sees me hurry through the door of day care to hold him

As I was holding my cell phone talking to my beautiful daughter.

Focusing on the exploration of his world
with a simple request of "Home"
His small hand placed trustingly in mine
to guide his own way
A little voice of hope for the future

As he nuzzled in my shoulder 

A nation, a world in tears
united in grief and loss
a tragedy so large
the loss so pervasive
the depth of emotions so great
no words can truly convey the mood

The sacrifice of so many lives
from so many countries
as we struggle to make some sense of the senseless
and look to answer the question
"Why?"
Yet many others saved
by acts of kindness from strangers
and in the mission thwarted
by last heroic acts of sacrifice and bravery

The eagle like the mighty phoenix
emerges from the ashes
bruised, but not beaten
stronger than ever
Out of the rubble of destruction
Seeds of hope
Stories of courage
Heroes emerge
our country unites

To learn and to change
so that it never happens again
To keep the memories of the events and the people alive
but to also keep living
If not for ourselves
for our way of life
for our freedom
for our children