Story Circle Network

Give Sorrow Words:
The Day America Changed
September 11, 2001

by Tom Grogan

The Plane

Disaster
Composed @ 9:11 a.m. Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Sitting
Waiting
Knowing
What happened
Fearing
Believing

Cold glances
Shivers
Of thought
And compassion

Secondary
Tertiary
Ripples
Across time
And space

Listening
Holding
Suspending
Disbelief

9.11.01
On the plane
On the tarmack
At O’Hare Airport
Trip to Washington, D.C. cancelled


The Aftermath

4:48 p.m.
Moments of Reflection
Innocence
Denied
Indifference
Removed
Doubts
Cast aside
Adrift
In a vast open place
A place of darkness
A void
Filled
By the tears of others
By the fears of what is known

Empty
Pit
Deep within
Churning
As if that motion
Makes any difference
In the end

Voices
Reassuring
Doubts
Resurfacing
Why?
Why?
Why?

9.11.01
on the bus
to Madison


In Remembrance: Post-Note

I haven't flown since 9-11, not out of fear, but due to the lack of need or opportunity. It was ironic to be on a plane headed for DC at the time of the attacks -- that my first "poem" was actually written at 9:11 a.m. on 9-11 is also interesting. Truth truly is stranger than fiction.

My heart goes out to all who directly experienced the full measure of the pain of 9-11 and the sequence of events that have ensued from that point to the present.

The horrors of mankind, or so it seems, ebb and flow, always moving and always returning. One would hope, as I do, that there would one day arrive a peace that transcends the limitations that seem to so limit our progress as a species.

Take care and best wishes to all who silently reflect on these words.


Last updated: 08/17/02