September 11, 2002

We’ve all seen the pictures
A young fireman
enters the South building
on his way to floors above
later to violently descend with them
Poor bearded religious fellows
sit around eating
the flesh of hillside animals,
cheese and bread
on a blanket
Videotaping their conversation
smiling like the devil
talking about God
Soldiers enter abandoned caves
holding up mortar shells
spitting on the walls
thinking of victory
and revenge, finally as hollow as the hole
they stand in…
The crumbling buildings
A smoking wall
in Washington, one out of five
We’ve heard the answering machine
voices saying, “don’t worry about me”, “let’s roll”
and of Lisa listening to the whole thing
not coping too well these days,
Life is not for the dead
or her kin, hate, revenge, bitterness,
arrogance, smugness, opulence
materialism
Life is for the living
and her close relations, love, forgiveness,
sweetness, humility, modesty,
simple kindness, spirituality
Yes, September 11 will forever more
be for remembering those who died
but it should also be about
finding a way to keep from descending
into the hole with the Taliban
or anyone else whose soul is
diseased and dying
In the end we are all
sometimes guilty of a lack of courage
an inability to see wise
courses of action
for the blood in our eyes
But patriotism that lasts only
as long as we are mad
is as hollow as the hole
where the towers no
longer stand
For the sake of the fallen
our mortal enemy must be death
and her kin
our loyalty must be to the living
and her close relations…
Sew me a flag
that flies for world-wide freedom
that stands for peace across races,
nations, and religions
and I’ll wave that flag
in the face of all its enemies