A Poem

I Saw it on TV

I heard the news,

A plane flew into the World Trade Center.

In my mind an image--

Like something out of Airplane!–

The tail and wing of a plane 

Jut from the side of a tall building.

Could the passengers climb

Gingerly through the emergency exits

And into the building before the teetering plane dislodged?

I saw it on TV,

A huge fire ball bursting through the side of a building,

Clouds of debris billowing out.

The people were incinerated

I knew.

I heard the news,

A fire at the Pentagon.

Then on the screen, an image

of clouds of smoke behind the Executive Office Building.

Is it a fire on the Mall?

I raced to the window.

Down the Mall, past the river,

Huge clouds of smoke rising from the Pentagon,

Blowing to the east on a glorious, crystal clear day.

In my mind I knew death

Could rain down from the sky at any moment.

I saw it on TV,

Bodies hurtling down the side of an endless wall.

A massive cloud pouring between buildings

Overtaking fleeing people.

All my life I’ve seen it on TV.

Now I know

Sometimes it can’t be changed.

Where tall buildings once stood

Now gape empty holes on the skyline.

Where people once stood

Now gape empty holes in living hearts.

Deborah Wood, Sept. 13, 2001