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Part 2 of my 9/11 thoughts:

First off, my story and a few comments. I woke up, and went online, and saw some news links, etc, about the towers going down. At first I didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t realize how serious it was. Then I started watching TV, and found out what was really happening. After that, the rest of the day was like a bad dream. No matter what I did, the events in NYC and DC were always on my mind. Nagging. Tearing. Pulling my mind away from everyday life. The media coverage was overkill. It was on just about every channel. After a while, it became too much. Seeing the towers go down was just too much. It was like a dream, like a movie.

It was my sister’s birthday, and I remember feeling so sad that such a horrible thing was happening on her birthday. I always wonder what she was thinking that day. Because it’s her birthday, Sept. 11 can never be completely horrible for me. I still have that little piece of joy to hold on to.

That whole day, I didn’t really do much. It felt wrong to think about anything else, do anything else, or not think about the implications of the events. As usual, I tried to remove myself from reality, and go on with things. It was hard, but I did it. I used to feel guilty about that, but now I don’t. Because if I didn’t move on, the terrorists win.

How have I changed? Not much. I won’t be eager to fly now, but mostly because of the hassle. I don’t fear for my life. I would fear for my life if stuff like this happened every day in the US. But it doesn’t. I don’t know whether to feel guilty about this or not. But I will say that I do tend to appreciate things a bit more than I did before. I appreciate the people in my life, because they could be gone tomorrow. And on the bright side, about a month and a half after 9/11 I met someone who makes me happier than I’ve ever been before. So I guess my life even improved after 9/11.
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And now for a poem about 9/11, written by myself today:

I know you’ve felt the pain
You feel you’ve been done wrong
But if you’ll give me a minute,
then I’ll sing you a song
The vulture tore the curtain
The red silk cover of life
The eagle tried to stop it
And paid for it with his life
The skies were black with poison
Belched and fouled by hate
The Towers took the blast and fell
In the city Great

Questions went unanswered
Goodbyes fell to air
Young and old
Man and woman
They all were shattered there
But now they are all Angels
Guarding over child
The love that still seeps through the cracks
In man’s heart runneth wild
As long as there’s a rainbow
Coming through the storm and rain
Those who live to tell the tale
Will find hope and peace again