Desecration
By Barbara Barron
Community Resident

Tall and Mighty they stood
Gleaming gold and silver
in the early morning light
I awoke with the security of their Majesty
Beyond near rooftops
And went to bed with a final glance
at their glittering through the
Blackness of the night.

In their direction my eyes
Often strayed
For beauty, for solace, for joy.
The black smoke
The brown smoke
The white drifting dust
Have taken its place
And I am so, so sad!

Victims – where are they?
Charred and unrecognizable
entangled with rubble
And steel
And stone
And glass.

We have rallied around the flag
But it is the civilian heroes
Exhausted and giving of their lives
who are the blessed
Of this American holocaust.

NEVER AGAIN must we take our
Liberty, our Privilege
Our Security
For granted.

-September 15, 2001