Remembering 911

Brian's heart was heavy on the 11th and decided to put his thoughts on paper.

9-11

I remember
the morning of September 11,
standing mute before the television
in an apartment in Laramie,
feet frozen to the floor.

I remember the TV screen --
macabre messenger --
flashing nightmare images
of smoke, dust, and fire,
and the airplanes
that rent Heaven and Earth.

I remember
a remorseless Grendel
rising again from the darkness
against the free and the brave,
snatching 3,000,
carrying them from this world.

I remember
the heroes who ran into the awful breach,
the choking dust,
the hellish smoke --
who entered the very mouth
of Hell
on a mission of deliverance or death.

I remember
Todd Beamer,
the patriot heart
that cried, "Let's Roll!"
and tore down the aisle
to the beast in the cockpit.

I remember,
I remember!
The day God consecrated
another ground zero
in the eternal war between good and evil.

Brian Bailey