Greater Shadows |
A tribute to 9/11 Tall, gleaming and stuffed to the brim with young, eager life Sensing trends, monitoring promises, steering other's dreams Jammed into corridors, cubicles, efficient, modern mayhem Lofty among the gray moving avenues below, the people's steeple Throwing shadows far beyond metropolis to the global cities Bartering sustenance for the weak, shoring up newborns and Providing a smooth transport for those with longevity. Just getting there is a considerable sojourn by train, bus or cab Wondering if they will be on time for the morning's starting bell Rushing, sidestepping, hurrying towards a worthy importance Riding elevators and escalators of Mr. Moses glassy, steely art Changing the horizontal neighborhoods to swifter vertical streets No thoughts of the lurking, hidden patriotism defining their brilliance Nothing of depression, only bright, foreseeable future. Since the great war, others came and went seemingly without rancor Private in purpose and scope, filled with victims but not bottom lined Scarce were the towers impacted or their lives touched and scarred The flag waved not, because the red of it had faded into bland obscurity The stripes were not afflicted or stricken with mortal, dire prophecies No harbinger proclaimed an urgency, no ambassador an ultimatum For the spires languished in complacency between free, airy stars. Then, in a flash, a hatred for all that thrived and pulsed with pride Reared a head so ugly in its misguided passion and ignorance That innocence was caught off guard and unprepared for vitriol A seething, strobe of mindless envy penetrating to the lady's open arms Crushing the hopes of thousands, spiraling down to ruinous rubble Yet from those ashes and fallen came the long missing America The future glory and heart of an unconquerable people Whose flag, now redder, whiter, bluer was determined to soar. |
