The Setting Sun (A 9/11 Reflection)

The setting sun On a day that shouldn’t have happened Makes me Wish I had told you, ‘I love you’ when you were still a member of my world. I could once rely on the orange- pink glow over the horizon On the setting of a hard day To assure me that there’s always tomorrow. But the day that started with a crash High in a sky as blue as the sea, Without a cloud above Reminds us all: Tomorrow isn’t a gurantee. Today the horizon is nothing But a smoky haze. Your eyes are not visible; Neither are her’s. But I can see a faint glare Of a firefighter’s determined eyes Fighting through the haze, Walking in the distance. All day there was rubble falling slowly In the distance Rubble in the form of corporate heads, Secretaries, Desks and chairs, Flying pieces of glass And metal From a structure we thought Would never fall. Our tears have Formed a river running through the streets. We’re all wearing red, white, and blue, With black drapes over our front doors; Flags hanging high, full of pride And signs of hope and encouragement Hang above the mess of highways and roadways. And now the sun is setting On this day that began with alarms and confusion, Striking up fears that we had never Held before; Had never been able to dream up Within the realms of our worst nightmares. The rubble is settling on the ground Into the ashes Of the horrible fire And there is an orange- pink glow Growing slowly from afar. Maybe it’s still the flames Burning into the dusk Or maybe God’s giving us hope And the world’s not really ending. And the sight of the bodies Dying Hugging Crying, Kissing And loving Makes me think of you. I should’ve said ‘I love you’ Before the building fell Before you flew Blindly through the sky. I shouldn’t have assumed Every sunset has to be a pretty one. I shouldn’t have believed That it would never rain again. We shouldn’t have assumed ourselves As indestrubable gods Living in luxury In our Heaven on Earth Of digital lives And happy endings in designer clothes, Without the possiblilty Of being struck by lightening When least expecting. We shouldn’t have assumed That there’ll always be Tomorrow. Written March 1st, 2002 © on Mar 01 2002 01:51 PM PST   0 • 1