Now and Forever
Barbara Singer
2001

Lyrics and photography by Barbara Singer; Voice and guitar by Nikki (www.WhirlMusic.com); Music written by Nikki and Barbara Singer

This poem, photograph, and resulting song were inspired by the horror of September 11, 2001.

My feeling about America is in this poem and photograph of the American flag, Now and Forever. I saw the flag at a construction site opposite my home on East 24th Street just two miles north of Ground Zero.

I thought of the brave citizens taking part in the rescue operations and of American soldiers who might be overseas. I had felt sorrow, misery, and hopelessness since the disaster and feared ongoing terrorism, but the basic beauty and hope in the American spirit and what America has stood for all these years--freedom, ethics, beauty--spoke to me through this flag.

The poem came to me like drumbeats. I wrote it down and photographed the flag. Two months later Nikki (www.WhirlMusic.com) and I composed the song, which she sang.

I hope this image, poem, and music encourage and comfort others as they do me.