unreal
unfathomable images
the graceful glide
engulfed by the spire
in a roar of golden orange
horribly beautiful
perversely mesmerizing
obscene
devastating images
of madness
torrents of humanity
raining down
desperation their only escape
masses of humanity
racing
to outrun the unbelievable
praying
to be delivered
from the inconceivable
traumatic images
shrines of free commerce
consumed
by the unbearable weight
of their fragile significance
plummeting to earth
in a cloud of self-destruction
heartbreaking images
screaming
dazed
terrified souls
consumed
by the unbearable weight of the moment
staggering onward
to outdistance the surging roll
of all-engulfing
pulverized aftermath
courageous images
battered
determined
tireless heroes
those who were called
who served unselfishly
some
who gave the ultimate service
haunting images
color
gender
ethnicity
wiped away
from the ashen-grey faces
of the traumatized throngs
now just masks of calamity
all made equal
by horror and grief
one nation
under siege
inconsolable
with tragedy and sorrow
for all
unforgettable images
burned into our hearts
rob kistner © 2019
Well described: “all made equal
by horror and grief” and “racing
to outrun the unbelievable”
Thank you Frank!
I wish we could return to the emotional contact we made with each other in the weeks afterwards. We are so far from that now.
Oh man, so do I Kerfe, but I guess we can never get back to that until we an find our way out of this fog that we so willingly wndered into.
I mentioned elsewhere two dates are indelible in the attic of my brain — December 11 and September 11. I can remember my parents and visiting relatives huddled about the console radio listening to news of Pearl Harbor. Both dates changed forever our lives as we knew them.
Terrible dates that live in infamy Bev. And it appears we’ve learned mothing. We are under the spell of horrible evil in this country, and we alone are responsible this time.
And we are seeing an even worse tragedy occurring all around us and it feels a though we are about as helpless to stop it as we were those planes approaching the towers. We have the means to end it. I hope we do…
It is remarkable Judy, just how short our collective memory truly is. This current attack is more diabolic in nature because it is coming from the inside, and blatant stupidity is what is allowing it to continue.
So much changed that day… also amazing how much we let it change us… and I wonder how it will be described when everyone remembering are gone.
Sadly Björn, with the horrid situation in my USA right now, with the surrender of civility and our complete loss of moral compass in my country — it is as if people have forgotten their pride in and love of America. We have allowed a megalomaniacal liar, and his greedy, elitist cronies to kidnap America — we have invited a racist, misogynistic, fascist to lead our country, and done so with little resistance, and to the great joy of a vast number of hateful, quite stupid people. Whatever the vision was of our forefathers, of a free democracy, where every person matters, and has the opportunity to become anything they are willing to work for — that vision is long gone. We are in a strange fog right now, from which will emerge a new, degraded reality of what America represents.