A dark shadow consumes
all in its wake
It cannot give
what it doesn’t have
Nothing gives nothing
blackness gives no light
Hate, a wrangled tree with
the fruit of violence,
cannot give sweet fruit
of kindness, grace
A shadow drapes
over the innocent and aware
a nation questions
a world wonders
the propensity in man
to dream or destroy
to love or hate
we all have a choice
Shadows of memories
stand where steel crumbled
and heroes sang
and a nation cried
Memories are all that
some people have of
their good-byes which
nobody knew were their
last goodbyes
Daughters and sons,
fathers and mothers,
the left behind still cry
Wounds in healing stitches
but each year memory
bleeds through a painted patch
We all carry a wound
from 9/11 or
pick-your- date-of-a-devastation
that will not be forgotten
Wounds continue, each day
with words and hatred from
souls alone and lashing
out to other human beings
in homes, streets, schools,
next door and across the sea
We are a nation, a world,
a people, alike, still crying,
still wounded, still seeking
meaning, truth, purpose,
with the same red blood,
our hearts bleed for belonging
When Love cries out
in earnest, calling
through each tragedy
to seek a better way,
I dream of the day
when a fire burns
that consumes the hate
when finally we learn
what it means to live
what it means to love.
***
Powerful! Love this! Sharing it. So grateful for your words, your heart, your willingness to share them both with us.
Thank you so much, Cindee, so kind of you. And appreciate you sharing, too!
We have all been hurt by someone or by some tragedy, but we must go on loving and living regardless of what was done to us. We ask but how can I forgive? This was too dreadful to accept?
We do not want to forgive those who acted in violence and anger even hatred! But then we remember that Jesus was willing to die even for that terrible un-forgivable person who has done this wrong. Lord help me to draw from your forgiveness, because I have little left to forgive on my own.
Hazel, a powerful prayer, I for one can’t do it on my own. You speak truth, that we need to forgive.
very nice…yes i think this did affect the world as a whole and for a bit brought us together…though i wish it would have carried further…it is time to stop throwing rocks and really come together…
I concur, Brian!
Thank you for your eloquence. It’s true, darkness cannot give, but like a lack hole it can suck your spirit if you let it. Love is the opposite: it gives, nurtures, builds.
…like a black hole…
Thank you for those words, Mark.
Lovely …. The world will never be the same.
True, ayala, most assuredly the world is not the same!
I dream of the day
when a fire burns
that consumes the hate
when finally we learn
what it means to live
what it means to love
I have been dreaming of this since 1969. All I can do is teach love to my child and give of my heart to those in need. Great poem!
Sounds good, friend, and keep the dream alive. Thank you for stopping by and sharing.
pick-your- date-of-a-devastation <– brilliant
Powerful and encompassing. Wonderful work.
Thank you, Beth.
I hope this is true that we can finally learn what it means to live and to love so well written and such a wonderful poem I am so happy to read this and hope it will come true one day
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/11/the-sorrow-of-our-times/
Thank you, Sarah.
So much pain, and it seems so senseless. It’s hard to wrap my mind around such devastation on this day or any other as you say. Pain of this kind is never easy 🙁
True, Lori, it is not easy. Thanks for commenting.
Beautiful write particularly touched by the final two stanzas…may we be purified indeed! ~ Rose
Memories are all that
some people have of
their good-byes which
nobody knew were their
last goodbyes
Oh, to live in a constant of awareness of potential last goodbyes, loving each other and building up, not tearing down.