Blog 3

Found poem

On the way to work

he heard the reports.

Commuter plane makes mistake.

He walked out of the parking garage,

something was missing.

Oh, it was a piece of his nation’s heart,

a piece of pride,

gone.

This couldn’t be an accident,

especially after that second plane hit

now we are missing even more.

Even more pride, symbolism, and worst of all,

loved ones.

he couldn’t get in touch with his wife. Panic.

No phone service, no way to escape it.

September 11.

He can’t hear my wife on the other end of the phone,

only screams, cries, and sirens.

Lives are changed now, people aren’t the same.

All he is missing are the buildings, but others are missing

loved ones, spouses, fathers, mothers.

From now on

every single day

he wonders,

“is today safe?”

Blog 3

The Capital of Our Nation

Thought it was going to be like any other day
My son watching his morning cartoons
September 11th, 2001
Tuesday
The tragic events
Fear and confusion
Asking questions
News reports
I watched it live, then the replays over and over again
I remember frantic calls to my wife
No contact for five hours
Are you all right?
Finally,
My wife called
She was on her way home
Seeing her
Safe and home
At last
All worry and fear left me
All officers were called to duty
She told me to be safe
The drive into work was surreal
No sound, no people on the streets
The Pentagon
Saw smoke rising
Thick burning smell filled the air
How bad will this get?
Groups of people gathered
Prayed
Lit candles
Crying
Two were shouting
About revenge and war
America disserving the attack
Du Pont Circle
Peace rally
In the distance
The Pentagon
Still burning
The smell filled my head, and soaked my clothes
14 hours
No matter the changes,
American would still be free

Lauren Epperson

http://911digitalarchive.org/parser.php?object_id=106

High School 9/11

I heard the news while working on my
algebra homework.
My teacher
came in looking nervous,
she announced
a plane
crashed
into the World Trade Center,
she wasn't sure if it was accidental
The class
began to
buzz with noise,
we were told to go on working.in my world history class,
someone was exclaiming that the
Pentagon
had been hit.
Many in the class
told them they were wrong,
of course
it had been the World Trade Center.
Then our teacher came in and said
both accounts were true.
The class
went dead silent.
He tried to focus our attention
on the conquering
of Alexander the Great.
It didn't do much good,
the next door teacher came in
announced the towers had collapsed,
with over 5,000 people in them.next class, geography,
we watched in horror
plane was missing,
later told
it too had went down.
many were crying.
fearfully told us
plane was circling Oak Ridge
...my lord, I thought,
if it crashes into
one of those nuclear plants
we will all die.
The rest of the day passed in a daze.
My cousin always
went home with me
she said
"I remembered what you said this morning."And then it came back to me.
Before we had left for school,
I had had a bad feeling,
I had thought nothing of it
I have always hated Tuesdays
But there had been an extra feeling
that morning.
Maybe because they played the song
"I've Had a Bad Day Again."
I had announced to her that something bad
was going to happen...
I'm sure it was just a coincidence.
I now have to turn off the radio
if "I've Had a Bad Day Again"
comes across the station.

Student Felt It Was Going to be a Bad Day and It Was

Early Tuesday Morning Analysis

I really liked this poem. When I read it, I felt like I was actually there. I could feel myself in New York that morning about to go out for the day. To have a brother with an apartment in that location would be wonderful. The last time I stayed in New York and got to go to Battery Park I had to stay in the Roosevelt. It was nice, but it wouldn’t have had any comparison to having a brother with an apartment in this prime location. I could see myself there that morning. I can imagine hearing the sounds and wondering what has happened as I am rushing out. I tense up when I begin to read the rest of the poem and things start to happen. I imagine the panic around the elevator. I would have been upset to see someone crying. I begin to sense stress and fear. I would have wondered what in the world is happening. I can imagine stopping and listening to the President on television and trying to gather some kind of information about what is going on. Then I hear about the Pentagon being hit. I would have been in a panic. I probably would have thought the world was ending. I can imagine coming back to my senses and thinking about my family. Panic would have been in my voice as I called my mom to check on my dad. Mom says she hasn’t heard from him and I think I am going to die. Then I get a mask and I am told to evacuate to Central Park. Mom calls me back and says dad is okay. I go to Central Park trying to breath. My eyes are burning. This poem took me through the emotions of actually being there that morning. I could feel it from the time the blinds open to the sun shining bright up until inhaling the toxic smoke and trying to evacuate.

Blog 4 Response to Poem: Dear Diana

I thought this poem was rather moving. I had never thought of what it would be like for an infant. They would not remember being there, but they were as much a part of history as any other human being on that dreadful day. I thought leaving “human history” by a line by itself was very effective. It definitely brought forward the idea that this was a wildly, life-changing event that would go down in human history for the rest of time. It was strange how the father knew what had happened as soon as he and his wife heard the “sonic boom.” I would not have known what to think. I would be more concerned about my life and the life of my family instead of wondering what had made that dreadful noise.

I like how “of the Trade Center” was left in a line by itself as well. I did the same thing in my poem to give it greater meaning. The line “And, it crossed my mind, my death” should have been broken up into smaller lines to give it a more dramatic feeling. Perhaps it could have been broken into a line for the mind and a line for the death. I love the “we prayed” lines. That is great repetition to get across the point of how they were concerned for those affected by this massive loss in our country. Over all, I loved the usage of the passage as a poetic letter to his baby girl. This would definitely be something that a grown-up Diana would cherish – the memory she would never remember, but would see through the eyes of her father.

-Megan Christy

Blog 3

Early Tuesday morning -

September 11.

Let the NYC job hunting begin.

Rain? No umbrella. Wet clothes for the interview.

Of course.

Off to Battery Park City apartments!

My lucky brother

and his attractive apartment.

Overlooking the Statue of Liberty

and

the World Trade Center.

Blinds open – sun shining bright.

What’s for breakfast?

Pick A Bagel! Only one block away

from

the World Trade Center.

About to leave.

ROAR!

BOOM!

What

was

that?

Breaking news on TV

No time

Need to get away!

Is that someone jumping

from

the World Trade Center?

Leave!

To the elevator!

Woman crying

Two others shocked.

Crowded.

Quick! To my brother’s office!

Woman on her cell.

“Joe! Joe! Call me!”

Was Joe

in

the World Trade Center?

A man jumping from the tower?

Black man calls out -

“Omigod! He jumped!

Peace my brother.”

I look down –

a pair of women’s shoes

left behind.

I listen to the President on the nearby TV.

Now the Pentagon!

The world was ending.

Wait!

Dad!

Business trip in Washington?

Is he ok?

Call Mom.

She has not heard from him.

Lobby fills with smoke.

“This is it.

This is the end of my life.”

Mouth full of grime tastes.

Black man

covered with gray ash

runs into our lobby.

Homeless.

Mom calls me back.

Dad is ok.

Is a man handing out flyers?

No.

Breathing masks.

Time to evacuate.

To Central Park!

Eyes stinging.

Lungs

tired of breathing

this toxic smoke.

-Megan Christy-

Poem: Dear Diana

Dear Diana,
On September 10, 2001,
You were six months old. The next day
The world around you changed as it rarely ever does—
With violence, stunning in its cruelty;
With mind-numbing speed;
And with a decisiveness almost unheard of in
Human history.
You and your mother were in the living room, and I
Was still in bed. There was a loud
Screaming outside that sounded like a plane or missile,
Then a huge explosion from the direction of the World Trade Center.
Your mom thought it was a sonic boom;
I thought it might be
What it turned out to be.
I saw the gash, fire, and smoke in the side of the north tower
Of the Trade Center.
I knew it wasn’t an accident.
While I was holding you,
The second plane came screaming in
Followed by the explosion.
In remembering,
You could tell that the engines were being revved up to full throttle
As the planes came boring in for the kill.
I went down to the scene to see if I could help;
People were being evacuated to
The east, south, and west.
The captain of the regional office’s police detail came by
And told me that the Pentagon had been hit.
I was thinking about what to do next when I heard a third screaming
That sounded to me like another plane was coming in.
I dove to the ground and waited for some kind of impact—
And, it crossed my mind, my death.
No shock came.
It was the sonic wave from the south tower collapsing,
Something I had no idea had happened.
I managed to outrun the debris cloud and got home
Just a few minutes later.
Your mother and I grabbed some things for you, put you in the carriage,
And left. The second tower was coming down.
I couldn’t bear to look.
There were thousands of people in the street,
Most going north, away from the
Disaster.
We went into your mom’s church, where we were
Married and you were baptized, and
We prayed.
We prayed for the
Souls of the innocent dead and the
Dark souls of the terrorists.
We prayed.
I can tell you that what you’ve seen and read about this
Is not an illusion and not a lie. It was much more real
Than you can imagine. There was a
Violence in the destruction
That was without any light at all.
I had and have my opinions and my views about
Why this all happened and what I think
Should happen and what I think
Will happen. As you grow older
And get to understand me better
And understand history, you and I will share our thoughts.
One thing I have to say now: As I heard that first plane going in,
I pretty much intuited what was happening
And why.
The woman in front of Notre Dame de Paris
Said what she thought:
“We are all a little American today.”
We may yet learn how to treat ourselves and our children
With love and respect. We may yet learn how to live
With some peace, prosperity, and harmony. I, for my part,
Am not going to wait for your generation to grow into adulthood
To see if it happens. I will be trying harder
Than I ever have to help bring the world to
A better way of living.
I think that on September 11, 2001,
Many millions of people in the world
Made the same decision.
Love Always,
Dad.

Below is the link to the story that inspired this poem.
http://911digitalarchive.org/parser.php?object_id=12311