Unknown — One

One

As the soot and dirt and ash rained down,
We became one color.
As we carried each other down the stairs of the
burning building,
We became one class.
As we lit candles of waiting and hope,
We became one generation.
As the firefighters and police officers fought their
way into the inferno,
We became one gender.
As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength,
We became one faith.
As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement, We spoke one language.
As we gave our blood in lines a mile long,
We became one body.
As we mourned together the great loss,
We became one family.
As we cried tears of grief and loss,
We became one soul.
As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes,
We become one people.
We are
One color
One class
One generation
One gender
One faith
One language
One body
One family
One soul
One people
We are The Power of One.
We are United.
We are America.
This candle was lit on the 11th of September, 2001.
Please pass it on to your friends & family so that it
may shine all across America. "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Land That We Love
Tears Now
Freedom Forever.
~Amen~

~ Author Unknown

Unknown — The Binch

~The Binch~

Every U down in Uville liked U.S. a lot,
But the Binch, who lived Far East of Uville, did not.
The Binch hated U.S! the whole U.S. way!
Now don't ask me why, for nobody can say,
It could be his turban was screwed on too tight.
Or the sun from the desert had beaten too bright
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
But, Whatever the reason, his heart or his turban,
He stood facing Uville, the part that was urban.
"They're doing their business," he snarled from his perch.
"They're raising their families! They're going to church!
They're leading the world, and their empire is thriving,
I MUST keep the S's and U's from surviving!"
Tomorrow, he knew, all the U's and the S's,
Would put on their pants and their shirts and their dresses,
They'd go to their offices, playgrounds and schools,
And abide by their U and S values and rules,
And then they'd do something he liked least of all,
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand all united, each U and each S,
And they'd sing Uville's anthem, "God bless us! God bless!"
All around their Twin Towers of Uville, they'd stand,
and their voices would drown every sound in the land.
"I must stop that singing," Binch said with a smirk,
And he had an idea--an idea that might work!
The Binch stole some U airplanes in U morning hours,
And crashed them right into the Uville Twin Towers.
"They'll wake to disaster!" he snickered, so sour,
"And how can they sing when they can't find a tower?"
The Binch cocked his ear as they woke from their sleeping,
All set to enjoy their U-wailing and weeping,
Instead he heard something that started quite low,
And it built up quite slow, but it started to grow--
And the Binch heard the most unpredictable thing...
And he couldn't believe it--they started to sing!
He stared down at U-ville, not trusting his eyes,
What he saw was a shocking, disgusting surprise!
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any towers at all!
He HADN'T stopped U-Ville from singing! It sung!
For down deep in the hearts of the old and the young,
Those Twin Towers were standing, called Hope and called Pride,
And you can't smash the towers we hold deep inside.
So we circle the sites where our heroes did fall,
With a hand in each hand of the tall and the small,
And we mourn for our losses while knowing we'll cope,
For we still have inside that U-Pride and U-Hope.
For America means a bit more than tall towers,
It means more than wealth or political powers,
It's more than our enemies ever could guess,
So may God bless America! Bless us! God bless!

~ Author unknown

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty

I wonder what she thought 

As she stood there, strong and tall. 

She couldn't turn away, 

She was forced to watch it all. 

Did she long to offer comfort 

As her country bled? 

With her arm forever frozen 

High above her head. 

She could not shield her eyes 

She could not hide her face 

She just stared across the water 

Keeping Freedom's place. 

The smell of smoke and terror 

Somehow reduced her size 

So small within the harbor 

But still we recognized... 

How dignified and beautiful 

On a day so many died 

I wonder what she thought, 

And I wonder if she cried.

The Statue of Liberty

I wonder what she thought As she stood there, strong and tall. She couldn't turn away, She was forced to watch it all. Did she long to offer comfort As her country bled? With her arm forever frozen High above her head. She could not shield her eyes She could not hide her face She just stared across the water Keeping Freedom's place. The smell of smoke and terror Somehow reduced her size So small within the harbor But still we recognized... How dignified and beautiful On a day so many died I wonder what she thought, And I wonder if she cried.

Paul Spreadbury — Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven

Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven
By Paul Spreadbury

Two thousand one, nine eleven,
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven.
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait.
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying,
"Lets sit, lets chat."
As they settle down in seats of clouds,
A man named Martin shouts out proud,
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."
Groups of soldiers in blue and gray,
Others in khaki, and green then say,
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."
From a man on sticks one could hear,
"The only thing we have to fear...
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."
"Courage doesn't hide in caves,
You can't bury freedom, in a grave."
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
In a distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores.
A silence fell within the mist,
Somehow a Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day.
"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports.
Worked our gardens, sang our songs,
Went to church and clipped coupons.
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not."
The tall man in the stovepipe hat,
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me."
Then, before them all appeared a scene,
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams.
Death, destruction, smoke and dust,
And people working just 'cause they must.
Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, But not alone.
"Look! Blackman, Whitman, Brownian, fellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene,
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."
Down below three firemen raised,
The colors high into ashen haze.
The soldiers above had seen it before,
On Iwo Jima back in '44.
The man on sticks studied everything closely,
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly.
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."
"You left behind husbands and wives,
Daughters and sons and so many lives.
They are suffering now because of this wrong,
But look very closely, you're not really gone.
All of those people, even those who've never met you,
All of their lives, they'll never forget you.
Don't you see what has happened? Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one."
With that the man in the stovepipe hat said,
"Take my hand," and from there he led
five thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven,
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven.

Salina Cousins — At Dawn's Light

I felt the need to share in my grief with words written from my heart on the great Tragedy that has come to America.

At Dawn's Light

The Sun rises over the East
Gray and black smoke spirals in the sky.
Glazed, confused, and saddened eyes just blink.
As a Nation struggles with how to say goodbye.
America and other Countries mourn,
For this horrific tragedy this past day.
The stark reality is spotlighted,
In the new light of the Sun's ray.
American Flight 11 and United Flight 175
Taken over by terrorist to fear.
Nothing could be done,
For the scheduled flight path, was to veer.
The Pentagon though scared
Hung a 3 story Flag to cheer.
And in reporter's eyes.
You could see that heartfelt tear!

Cell and air phone calls on United Flight 93
Really tell of the heroic deeds.
And at the Pentagon,
They follow all possible leads.
As the setting Sun
Lowers and glides to rest.
The American Flags wave proudly,
As we display our symbol, and crest.
With my Heartfelt Sympathy's

Salina R. Cousins
9-12-01