Posted originally on the CTH on September 11, 2024 | Sundance

The anniversary of the attacks on 9-11 presents a day to reflect, remember and pay tribute to those we lost.   I am sure most of us remember exactly where we were at the moment when we found out our nation was under attack.  Our nation was forever changed by those moments on September 11th, 2001.

Perhaps we can share our memories together as we think about the anniversary of this date.

Where were you on that day?  And what memories are most vivid for you?

~ The Better Option ~

He stared toward a cloudless sky; a tear was present in his eye.
What did he see I wondered aloud – this man of strength did not look proud.

Transfixed we watched through a camera’s lens, strangers before, now oddly friends.
What are his eyes held witness to? What’s stirring such tears of painful hue?

Electronically we were connected, our lives attached, a stopped nation affected.
What horror was there, upon his gaze? – What caused such pain amid the haze?

Some sounds not known were heard aloud – and people screamed amid the crowd.
We struggled to sense what view they saw; the fireman’s face was present more.

His sorrowed eyes bleeding despair – my God, what was he seeing there?
I could not move, we stood transfixed, my view of hell would soon be nixed.

He bore my witness through those flames, this hell on earth from terror planes.
Our Eagle screamed….. the metal cracked; two once proud towers stood attacked.

The human toll still yet unknown, our feeling safe was overthrown.
Finally, as I stared, I recognized….. what was causing those tears in that fireman’s eyes.

Oh – My – God, humanity was being lost – and helplessly we saw the cost.
The sound of people,… people, jumping down, from towers strong in our New York town.

Locked in horror, frozen, all there stood – bewildered eyes saw nothing good.
We viewed a scene of great despair…amid evil, smoke, and hate filled air.

Connected witness we became, to terror’s rage and human pain.
Trapped atop a blinding heat, were once moms and dads upon the street.

A “better option“?… caused by hate – to leap the flames and own your fate.
More horrid thoughts we’d never known, not from before the glass had blown.

Theirs was not an option for the stair, their only choice hands locked in prayer.
I cannot grasp the thoughts that crossed – the minds of those loved, soon to be lost.

As victims now…. their life soon ceased, a hurling body – soul released.
and for those who bore witness, my God the pain; those memories seared will long remain.

Connected all we stood aghast, all witness to the terror blast.
Their bodies torn; their spirit lost; memories now……. a priceless cost.

But what we have now to decide; reflecting on this place they died.
The Blood-soaked ground, the empty skies, our throat in knots, our tear-filled eyes.

A memory now so deeply burned, their sacrifice for us was learned.
The hurt, the pain, the bitter sorrow, must guide us now toward tomorrow.

For those we loved, and families lost, no gold of man can count the cost.
Through the eagles’ tears our nations price, we must honor those of sacrifice.

How do we honor such courage bold and warm our souls despite the cold.
A daunting charge ‘mid our mortal stage – to reflect that courage amid our rage.

Two decades past and now we find – our hearts, our souls, our tears, our mind.
Still harken back and feel those tears; the wound -the scar- through many years.

Memories honored must remain, our task in life to cherish that pain…
For souls we lost, and sorrow bound – we must always respect such hallowed ground.

~Sundance