Member-only story
A Poem for 9/11
What a week. As we mark the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I share again a poem below that I wrote years ago, made all the more heavy by yesterday’s horrific shooting. May this day remind us to choose compassion over cruelty, courage over fear, and humanity over hate, even — and especially — when we disagree.
A Poem for 9/11
by Julio Vincent Gambuto
Never forget the moment the phone rang,
You answered with so much to lose,
Never forget the confusion, the “huh?”
The yelling to “Turn on the news.”
Never forget the staring right at it,
That image that made zero sense,
Never forget the shocked disbelief,
How your body was suddenly tense.
Never forget searching the sky,
For floors that used to be standing,
Never forget the fleeing, the running,
The leaping, the falling, the landing.
Never forget the waiting, the waiting,
The deeply insufferable waiting.
Who was inside? And who has returned?
The horrible heart-fucking waiting.
