never forget

this is a poem i wrote about 9/11 in 2002.  my cousin was affected greatly by the attacks since she was in one of the buildings near the twin towers when the first, then second, plane hit.  one of the images she spoke of which stayed in my mind were the envelopes of unopened mail that were literally falling from the sky.  she had shown me a few of the pieces which she had picked up on the streets below, names unreadable, edges burned and yellowed, smeared in soot.  the smell of that day still lingered.  i will never forget that.

below the poem is a reflection from 9/11/08.  today's post will follow that.

"Untouched Mail"

United, we fell on a single day

A moment of terror sent our nation astray

For a city of traffic, pace, and routine

There was nothing – but death, and screams so obscene

Then there was silence, and whimpers of loss

Dual towers of greatness embodied lives as the cost

Inside there were people, now hostage to steel

Heat became so immense that their nerves couldn't feel

And just as each prayed, "God, don't let me die"

There was noise of a second machine in the sky

Steel gripping steel, metal within metal

The impact left screeches and murmurs unsettled

There were cries down below from debris up above

Now victims of ambush they blessed the ones whom they loved

Inhaled breaths of smoke, wiped the tears from their eyes

Said goodbye to their children, their husbands, and wives…

United, they died on that solitary day

Like the untouched mail on their desks, did they lay.

© Gloria Farng 1.16.02

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NEVER FORGET.  The words are on the billboards, all caps, beside pictures.  Memorials, a moment of silence, a national holiday.  Flags are lowered, soldiers hand out tokens.  One day.  We give ourselves one day to mourn the ones we've lost, to hold onto the ones we haven't.  Each year passes and we move forward, only stopped when we print the date and remember – because it has become ingrained in our minds, that one day.  We stop.  We reflect.  That day forever changed us – instantly, simultaneously – yet we keep moving, keep living.

Let us remember every day counts, and those in our lives need constant reminders.

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my sister and i exchanged our "where were you when.." stories of 9/11/01 yesterday.  i don't think i had ever heard hers, and i'm not sure she had ever heard mine. 

i was in college at the time, headed to a class i didn't want to be in, just a regular school day like all the others.  when i walked into the lecture hall and took my seat, what struck me was that many of the seats were empty.  it was particularly evident since the room could have easily held 200 students.  had the class been cancelled?  on top of that, the instructor was late, so i heard whispers from my other classmates.  something was not right.  my professor finally came in, but he made an announcement.  he said that a plane had crashed into the world trade center in new york.  it sounded like some freak accident, and i imagined it to be a small commuter plane.  class began. 

shortly afterward, a student(?) walked in and interrupted the class.  he exchanged a few words with the professor.  he left, and my professor addressed the few of us in the room.  "i just received word that a second plane crashed into the world trade center.  i am now hearing it was a terrorist attack.  class is dismissed, you can go home now."

the words didn't make sense to me.  a terrorist attack??  in new york?  i grabbed my belongings and walked out of the building.  i saw students huddled at corners, one group around a radio.  i took out my cell phone and called my mom, to see if she had heard from our family in new york.

now, 10 years later, i am grateful that i have a "where were you when.." memory.  many were not as lucky.  may we remember all those who gave their lives, along with their families, on that fateful morning a decade ago.