PAUSE TO PRAY
By: Leeman Hackworth

1.
The news was on the TV
And horror filled the screen,
A burning plane and building
'Twas the worst she'd ever seen.

Her thoughts were on her son
And where she knew he was that day
Somewhere inside that Tower,
So, a mother paused to pray.

2.
Confusion reigned about the man,
People running fearfully
As he tried to reach the Towers
Where he knew he had to be.

Then a roar drowned out his siren
And the sky turned ashen gray
As the Tower fell on his comrades
And a fireman paused to pray.

3.
It wasn't but a breath of time
Before every borough knew,
And the people rose to help some way
As New Yorkers always do.

But in their grief and pain
They stopped along the way,
And for a moment, to a man,
A city paused to pray.

4.
Heroic tales abounded
Like the souls of ninety-three
Who gave their lives for others
And paid the price for staying free

Tho' our pain was mixed with pride
As the news came in that day,
On September the eleventh
A nation paused to pray.

5.
With the speed of light news spread
To all lands across the sea.
And on their screens this nightmare
Was there for all to see.

Across free lands the bells tolled
For the people killed that day,
For the first time in this century
The whole world paused to pray.

6.
Four senseless acts of violence
Brought here to freedoms' shore
Where we felt so safe from terror
Nevermore, friend...nevermore.

But, for those who cruelly planned this
And think they got away,
I can offer but one suggestion
You had better pause to pray.