Artists Registry

September 11, 2001
by Marilyn Brackney
Columbus, Indiana

Statement of Artistic Intention

This poem was written to honor the workers who died and the firemen and others who gave their lives, enabling thousands to escape from the World Trade Center on September 11th. Creating the poem and art helped me to personally deal with the tragedies of that day, and I hope the work will remind others how important it is to celebrate life and to appreciate family and friends. On the collage, the poem appears twice where the Twin Towers once stood.

I had just checked my e-mail, and returned to the family room to have a cup of coffee and watch the morning news when the horrible pictures appeared on the screen. Indeed, the whole world watched as the terrible events of September 11th unfolded on television.

Then came a report that the Pentagon had been hit, and I raced to the phone. My brother, Bill, was there working as a military consultant. I tried to call his office, but all lines were busy. After reaching another relative, I learned that he was OK. Relieved to find that Bill was safe, I returned to watch the news with my husband.

By late morning, our daughter arrived from out-of-town, and our son left work to join us. We called relatives in distant cities to share our feelings about the tragedies and to assure them that my brother escaped unharmed from the Pentagon. As with many families across America, it was important to be together with our loved ones, if not in person, at least in spirit.

I watched television for hours, mesmerized as image after image filled my mind. I had hoped to keep a journal of the day's events, but I was in a daze. Single words and phrases were all I could manage, so I began writing, jotting down impressions as they came to me. They seemed poetic.

At first it felt inappropriate to think of creating at a time like this, and I realized that my art was trivial compared to the work of the rescuers in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. But I had to do something, and making art is what I do. Besides, disrupting my life is just what the terrorists hoped to accomplish, so I was determined to continue writing.

Over the next few weeks, the lines for September 11, 2001 slowly emerged. They were always there. I just had to be patient and wait for them to come to the surface. The process of creating the art and poem had a healing effect on my soul, and the finished work is a celebration of life and a tribute to the victims.

September 11, 2001
The broadcast is interrupted
as the electric messenger
brings us the news, and
the one-eyed hypnotist
casts his spell. We look
deep into his eye, and
we cannot turn away
from the ugly picture.
Cauliflower cloud, black and
orange. Rolling, billowing,

rising skyward. Image forever
scorched into our collective
memory. Sirens scream amid
soft sobs. People in disbelief,
shock, suffering unbearably.
Then the unthinkable happens,
and clouds of ash thunder
through limestone canyons,
covering everything in

a modern day Pompeii.
Hopes, dreams, plans and
schemes evaporate in less
than a New York minute.
Uninterrupted terror flows
from one second to the next.
The city’s Finest and Bravest
make the supreme sacrifice,

and common people become
the most uncommon heroes.
Hard hats and soft hearts
scramble frantically in
a search for survivors.
We soon realize that the
good, old days are gone,
and life has changed forever.

The Lady in the harbor weeps,
and the whole world watches
as morning becomes mourning.
In the final hour, the victims
show us the true meanings
of courage and devotion.
With their last calls and
sweet goodbyes, they reveal
what’s really important.

Love, family, and friends.
People vanished but a
People not vanquished.
Out of the ashes America
rises for the final round.
Now over there is over here,
but freedom will endure.
In tribute to those who
died, we will live, but

we will never forget.

And that’s the way it was,
Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

©2001 Marilyn Hanna Brackney