Right before....
The first plane hit
It was 8:45 a.m.
They were thinking
Laughing
Working
Eating
Building
Communicating
Remembering
Walking
Going to the bathroom
Checking the clock
Getting to work late
Wondering how their children were doing at school
Thinking about who they'd like to have lunch with
Thinking about the dinner they'd have that night
Digesting their breakfast
Trying to meet a deadline
Looking out the window
Making a deal
Scratching their knee
Licking an envelope
Dictating a message
Checking over their schedule for the day
Making a doctor's appointment
Dealing with a grumpy boss
Listening to office gossip
Flexing their toes
Hiring
Firing
Planning their next vacation
Wondering how many sick days they have left for the year
Biting their lip
Thinking about their husband's/wife's/children's smile
Feeling overwhelmed
Stressed
Exhausted from lack of sleep
Exhausted from too much sleep
Wondering if they/their spouse/mate/lover/children were coming down with a cold
Worrying about their job
Worrying that their boss didn't like their last report
Dialing a phone
Staring blankly at a wall
Ready for the weekend even though it's only Tuesday
Taking this day for granted as they/you/me/us had done so many times before
Right before
In a split second of nothingness
Everything was as it had always been
As it would/should/could always be
Until the minute hand struck 8:46 a.m.
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That's really beautiful, Ray. So true, and so sad.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sara.
ReplyDeleteLife cannot be summed up without knowing first there is always a beginning and an ending. Although we all move along through out our days ignoring the fact that tomorrow may not ever arrive for any of us. We all have loved ones and people whom shall miss us when we're gone and a caring God whom sits on high... if only we could realize that the moments are forever fleeting and to love while we still can. The best bet is to love unendlessly.
ReplyDeletePowerful write, Rach!
jkb
Thank you James. I wrote this poem for the one year anniversary of 9/11 but for some reason never posted it here. So it seemed appropriate to post it today.
ReplyDeleteThe quiet simplicity is powerful! Fine work! Love to you
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how an event can magnify the mundane.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lilith and yes Les, I wanted to show for those in the towers it was just another day full of all of those mundane events. I had to really think about what they were doing and had to go back and keep adding more. I probably could make it even longer, but I think everyone gets the point of what I was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteThank you both.
A poem that's true and comes from the heart
ReplyDeleteYou brought me back to that day in a positive way. To the contrary of Sarah I didn't feel sad, despite the tragedy. I felt the people that were there and in my view your poem is a tribute to their lives, not their deaths. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteVery well written Rachel. I love how you show what a mundane day it was for the majority of us, until that moment that changed everything. If we'd all take more time to remember maybe we wouldn't complain about those mundane things today.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this.
Thank you everyone. My cousin was actually in building 7 of the World Trade Center complex on 9/11 and felt the impact of the first plane when it hit. I remember her saying, "it had been just like any other day before that," which fueled my idea of recreating that time before.
ReplyDeleteawesome, touching, thought-provoking, and saddening.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I am still shocked by the events of 9/11.
My wife and I were on holiday, we didn't even hear about it until the evening, we were in a taverna on Kefalonia when some Greek friends of ours told us the horrifying news.
Hey Nathan Strange here, loved this piece of artwork here, the visions of people going about their normal daily routines and then... nothingness, just tragedy. Oh you really created a scene here. The rhythm was amazing, it flowed brilliantly and had the tension and that feeling of everything happening at once. WOW! Keep writing! LOVE!!!
ReplyDelete