The Firefighters

There was a place the angels missed,
Too fragile for the worst of this,
This middle land where hearts will break
Or be consumed, or just subsist
Or all at once, depending on the day;

Let those unhearted who would take
The measure of our rage and pain
Remember, though, that hearts are not in vain--

There were three hundred, many more
Whose fate or choice it was to stay
Until the very towers spent;
And this a mending heart cannot ignore…

Let angels weep, and stay away;
There is a place these others went,
Most caring and most hard of heart,
Who damn the devil; and this, only they.

To all those responding-- fire, police, and civilian personnel--on September 11th, 2001.

(c) Dave Blanchard
Db.59@live.com