I stand silent,
a single tear rolls down my face.
My hand touches the bronze plates,
names inscribed.
My mind is silent,
my thoughts drowning as the
waterfalls cascade down.
A storm brewing within,
the tears are flowing.
An ache I buried,
rising to the surface.
The wound oozes,
it bleeds,
the sun is shinning,
the wind on my face,
neither comforts me
nor ease my sorrow.
Stories told by loved ones,
about loss,
of lives gone too soon.
They will be remembered
their faces, and smiles,
their birthdays
and the moments that
made up their lives.
I want to search for your name,
but I am told that I'll never find you.
I glance down,
and there you are.
We never met,
but I was told you were
a gentle soul,
a hero,
a son,
a brother,
an uncle,
a boyfriend
a friend.
You were so many things to
so many people.
Your name inscribed,
among your friends.
I stand silent
drowning in the moment,
closing my eyes and feeling the pain
inside.
Sunday we were at the 9/11 Memorial in N.Y.C. I felt honored to be there and to pay our respects. So may lives lost. So many lives gone too soon. I felt an ache that's hard to express. Here is the link to it .wikipedia.org/wiki/National_September_11_Memorial_. A friend of mine lost her brother in-law that day, he was a firefighter and a hero. http://longisland.newsday.com/911-anniversary/victims/Kevin-Donnelly I was so happy to be able to find his name and share it with my friend. The first few weeks of 9/11 we watched all the reports and stories and we felt devastated. I wrote this poem on my flight home. I was grateful that I could share this with my son Daniel. He was a baby when this happened. Please meet us here, http://dversepoets.com/category/openlinknight/ where we share our thoughts and our hearts.
i went there as well when i was in nyc -- and it's overwhelming to stand at that place where so many people found a sudden death... have you been in the little church around the corner as well... ? moving..
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what that must feel like - to see someone you love inscribed on stone. Yet even when we never met them, they have touched our lives...our hearts. You wrote of it perfectly, ayala.
ReplyDeleteAyala, I was in NYC to see a very temporary Memorial Wall after 9 / 11 happened. It gave me chills. I can only imagine what you must have felt at this completed 9/11 Memorial. I do want to see it someday though….just to remember (and never forget) and honor somehow those who died way too soon. So many individuals whose families' lives were forever changed. Strong emotion here, Ayala.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very poignant poem Ayala! I am glad you found the name you were looking for. I can relate to your words since I live near many WWI memorials and see people come from the USA and the Commonwealth to find a name and honor a relative. Remembering is essential!
ReplyDeletewhew. i have been tot he OKC memorial as well....both very stilling...giving one pause to remember that day...to remember the names of those that lost their lives....stilling....
ReplyDeleteA sad moment Ayala ~ I was overwhelmed with emotions recalling this event and the many lives lost ~
ReplyDeleteThat event shattered so many lives .. and the memories in such a place must be overwhelming.. memorial (esp. those with names) can be so overwhelming.. lovely tribute.
ReplyDeleteHeart-felt writing. Emotions flowing through your verses. These acts of terrorism ruin so many lives...
ReplyDelete-HA
Beautiful, this is what memorials can do for us, help us find a connecting point and express our grief.
ReplyDeletewonderful tribute...to those that have passed...
ReplyDeleteEach year on 9/11, when we pause for that moment or two of silence, the tears just roll. For all the people I never met, will never know. For all that didn't come home to their wives, husbands, children, families. Like a scabbed over wound that never quite heals. Thanks for sharing this. So glad you found the name you were looking for. Lovely tribute.
ReplyDeleteQuite the chilling site indeed
ReplyDeleteA heartfelt and emotional tribute, Ayala. You really captured the essence of the emotion in these words.
ReplyDeleteA respectful poem to honor those who fell. A wonderful way to keep remembering them.
ReplyDeleteAnd may the soul of Kevin Donnelly RIP and may his memory always be a blessing.
ReplyDeleteSuch brave men, all those firefighters that lost their lives.
Ayala, you poem touched my heart greatly!
Beautifully poignant, Ayala. Full of passion. Very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful tribute to a devastating tragedy... we need to honor, remember, cherish. You did all of that, here.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful write I have visited there as well it is a humbling place in the silence I read names.
ReplyDeleteAyala, this post you published today is one to stop ANYBODY in their daily living, to reflect again, on what happened and what it must have been like to be there. To realize this terrorism is happening in many cities around the world yet today, is also most horrifying.
ReplyDeleteI really believe it is time to round up the troops, those who believe in prayer, but may not do too much of it...form an army of prayer slinging soldiers, asking God's will to be done, but (hint-hint!). God, could You soften and enter the hearts of those who are SO misguided? Please, we earnestly pray, ask, beg.
YOU wrote this so well, Ayala, and SEE? See what you have done to people? To me? Made us THINK...about what can WE do? Otherwise, this is such frustrating world.
I also find this a quiet, still, and powerful tribute. You found his name and hopefully brought some solace to his relatives. I visited the 9/11 Memorial in June and found the water such a moving symbol, and I like the way you included it in your poem.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of how I felt when I first saw the Vietnam Wall.
ReplyDeleteSuch an honest and emotional read.
ReplyDeleteYour words brought back so many memories for me; truly close to heart and soul. Graceful and heartfelt I am with you, loved ones I lost and others who flow with. Beautiful imagery as to its importance. Namaste' ~Linda
ReplyDelete"drowning in the moment" - such a powerful line. You are so good at writing tributes. Always full of emotions that tug at my heart.
ReplyDeleteThis is poignant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this powerful moment and for reminding us that those are not simply names inscribed on stone - but people, real people who gave their lives for others.
Hi Ayala, I lived in downtown NYC on 9/11. Of course it marked all our lives with great sadness. Thanks for your poem. K.
ReplyDeleteI was there some years ago and know the feelings you describe. Glad you saw the name.
ReplyDeleteAn intense and evocative write, expressing so much, so beautifully. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHave never been there myself. Someone I knew (though just barely) was in the first tower and didn't make it out.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, so kind Ayala. Like everyone I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I remember where I was, attending services with my synagogue community gathered, praying, crying, many people worried about loved ones in NY they had not heard from yet. I remember talking with my students, that Sunday evening, I was a brand new teacher and some of the kids (13 &14 year olds) had family in NY, one student's uncle had stopped longer on his way to work that morning at the towers than he normally would have to pick something up at a bakery and was spared. I'm so sorry about your friend's brother in law, and oh so grateful for his courage, for his generosity in saving the lives of others as he lost his own.
ReplyDeleteThis is really moving, Ayala.
ReplyDeleteTouching words.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful heartfelt words...such a tragic event, I was pregnant with my son when that happened...it was such a scary time. Lovely write.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely tribute.
ReplyDeleteTouching piece. I felt the same etching an old pen pal's name at the Nam memorial... the tactile moment of touching that name, how it brings back thoughts and memories... even when those memories might be learned of second hand... This really moved me, Ayala. Amy
ReplyDeleteOh Ayala, it will always be heartbreaking. I live in NYC and haven't been down there- weakness? Not sure. I'm sure the sun was shining- it shines almost every 9/11. If you have a chance go to Metrodad's blog. He lost a friend on 9/11 and writes the most beautiful tributes. Why does Kevin Donnelley sound familiar?
ReplyDeleteMemorials truly are found in hearts. This was a moving one.
ReplyDeleteSteve