A TRIBUTE TO OUR NATION 9.11.

01
Written by Lisa Isabella Benson
in the days that followed

It is being stricken with pain

Unfamiliar in name
Dazed, shocked and stunned
Instantly immobilized
Perpetually numb
A suffering for those we did not know
The loss unbearable as though we did
It is an invasion
Of heart and mind
Unlike that of any other
For we have lost today
Our sisters and our brothers
Where their words once were flowing
In their place now only ambers glowing
It is harrowing images of horror
Indelible at best
Gripping tales of heroic feats
Our countrymen courageously put to test
(1)

It is reaching for the highest of hope

Then sinking quickly
To the depths of despair
All within one breath
Anxiously awaiting news of life
Receiving instead only that of death
It is praying it is not too late when it is
It is a world with heads bowed low
And exchanges so faint in expression
A collective anguish permeates
A Vagueness etches our reflection
It is seeking a safe harbor
Yet of these words now
We can know no guarantee
It is being unwilling witness to an evil
Which has brought a nation to its knees
It too though is
Character of our nation
As we rummage through rubble
And sift through debris

(2)

Knowing one day

We WILL emerge as victor
For all the world to see
We shall rise
From these ashes of hatred
Like a phoenix taking flight
With heads now held upwards
Together we will soar to new heights
Strengthened as a nation
The American flag drapes
Waving as witness to our pride
How ever could they think
We would weaken, run and hide?
For there is power
In our resolve
As steadfastly we unite
A proud nation unto one
In honor of those taken from us
Each and Every One.

(3)