Thoughts on the WTC Attack

Lair of the Cheshire Cat

Thoughts on the WTC Attack

HOME

Things to ponder

I live in NYC, and events of September 11, 2001 have, well, affected me. As they would affect anyone else, I expect. At any rate, here are a few things to ponder. A poem I wrote, and a few quotes from various sources. Just to think about. My condolences to anyone who lost someone close to them.

"Two Days After" by thecheshirecat03 (me)

There's no such thing as a normal day

Always something odd happens

Something strange

Something special

Something memorable

But some days the something is bigger

Than the usual un-normal

Were you glued to your TV set?

News round-the-clock

Blaring stark facts like hyperbole

No one panicked -- impressive

Didn't realize New Yorkers were so cool-headed

Maybe we don't know how to feel

We the generation of pseudo-peace

(In America at least)

Everyone responds differently

I just stare stunned at the smoke

It billows so weirdly from the south

Marring the vista down Sixth Avenue

These past few -- scarce few

So short and so long -- un-normal days

Tuesday the skyline changed

Wednesday the phone kept ringing

Sirens kept wailing

Last night I dreamt I was in a computer game

Leading airplane graphics into shattered skyline

Bam! a building and crash! another

And boom! the Empire State Building

And woke up still shaking

And today we dressed in somber colors

But I took a walk through the park

I couldn't forget, but still:

Trees swayed with their glittering green leaves

September warmth belied approaching autumn

And the sky so clear and blue --

Such a beautiful day

from the musical "South Pacific," lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, used without permission

"You've got to be carefully taught to hate and fear, You've got to be taught from year to year; It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear, You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are differently made, And people whose skin is a different shade, You've got to be carefully taught. You've got to be taught before it's too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate; You've got to be carefully taught, You've got to be carefully taught."

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." --Ghandi

from the musical "Ragtime", lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, used without permission

"A day of peace. A day of pride. A day of justice we have been denied. Let the new day dawn, oh, lord, I pray... We'll never get to heaven 'till we reach that day."

"I read the news today oh boy..." --The Beatles

from the musical "Assassins," lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, used without permission

"Every now and then a madman's bound to come along. Doesn't stop the story -- story's pretty strong. Doesn't change the song....Listen to the stories. Hear it in the songs. Angry men don't write the rules and guns don't right the wrongs. Hurts a while, but soon the country's back where it belongs. And that's the truth."

No jokes here