You notice something raining
Upon you and all around;
And rubble and debris is falling
There upon our nation’s ground.
You may wonder what it is there
And think that if you only could
Understand this smoke and fire
Where once the towers stood.
But allow me for just a moment
To make clear this awful act
That suddenly and without warning,
We find ourselves under attack.
And your life now has profoundly
Been altered if you would,
And now is shattered to its core
Where once the towers stood.
For I am these brackish ashes
That lay here at your feet.
That rains down from above,
That masks the horror complete.
Smoothing out all the edges
Of torn girders splintered wood.
Ashes is all that now remains
Where once the towers stood.
I’m one of many who were destroyed.
Meted out by a ruthless man.
One hateful mind that poisons
Other minds to heed his plans.
He thought of us as evil;
Infidels and none much good.
So he destroyed what was ours
Where once the towers stood.
I once was your brother,
Or your husband, or your friend.
Your wife or your mother or your son
Or your daughter but in the end,
We will ever be remembered;
Never hidden beneath the hood,
With no reason why we died
Where once the towers stood.
I was never a storied hero
Bravely facing something dire,
But a fellow human being
Caught in this awful fire.
Used God’s name a bit too often,
But lived my life the best I could.
Loved and worked and laughed
Where once the towers stood.
Where once a sight of marvel
Silhouetted the evening sky.
That symbolized our freedoms
We fought so hard for and died.
But ever remember us always
While you rebuild with rock and wood.
We lived in the heart of our nation,
As where once the towers stood.