|
WHAT DID YOU DO WHEN THE TOWERS CAME DOWN?
My mother was three when we won the world war,
And Kennedy died years before I was born.
I don't remember napalm or My Lai;
When the TV was on, my mom kept me away.
I never knew why people asked "Where were you...?"
Till I heard of the loss of the Challenger crew.
And now every September, we gather around,
And ask, "Where were you when the towers came down?
What did you do when the towers came down?"
"I went to work early--the 94th floor,
With my coffee in hand, and I knew I'd need more.
I hadn't been working for Cantor that long;
I was still terrified I would do something wrong.
Then the steel screamed in pain and the glass went to bits,
And I think I knew something below had been hit,
And the roaring of flame ate up all light and sound,
And I never knew when the towers came down.
I never knew when the towers came down."
"I jammed on my helmet and ran for the door;
And I thought, after all, I've survived it before,
We could not have known what we were running to meet
Till we jumped off the truck and we ran up the street
And saw jet fuel and steel burn and blacken the air,
And I only thought once, 'Christ, we're going in *there*?'
But we climbed toward the fire to beat the thing down--
And that's where we were when the towers came down.
That's what I did when the towers came down."
"There once was a place at the top of one tower
Where my husband washed dishes for eight bucks an hour.
When I heard, my throat closed till I thought I would choke,
And I ran out to fight through the panic and smoke.
I plastered up flyers, so people will know him,
And how, if they see him, to help him come home.
And I *knew* even then he would never be found--
But that's what I did when the towers came down.
And that's all I've done since the towers came down."
And the rest of us, who were not hurt very much,
Still woke the next day knowing we had been touched;
Still felt it unfair, as we learned of the toll,
That our lovers were safe, that our bodies were whole,
And from our helpless distances did what we could--
We gave to the funds or lined up to give blood,
And we wept as we stared at the wound in the ground,
And that's where we were when the towers came down.
That's what we did when the towers came down.
In September, in Texas, the sun still can scorch;
And while George clears the brush, and his wife sweeps the porch,
Maybe some afternoon all the Bush family
Will gather around in the shade of a tree,
And someone will mention that this was the day
That a bright morning sky brought disaster our way
And Jenna and Barbara will sit their dad down,
And ask, "Where were you when the towers came down?
What did you do when the towers came down?"
"I sat in a classroom and read to the kids,
Then I got on an airplane while Dick Cheney hid.
I preyed on their grief and I fanned people's fears,
And learned to brew oil from Americans' tears.
I stood up in the Capitol, armed with a lie,
And told grieving parents that more had to die.
And at nine every night I turned in and slept sound,
And that's what I did when the towers came down.
That's what I did when the towers came down."
For what it's worth,
The Plaid Adder
This poem has always been on my refrigerator door and it still is. For some reason it just moved me so much.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
