the flames, the endless flames
our eyes, from a different coast watching
the horror of the bodies falling, freefall into air
the dust
the ashen
walking
the firemen, saviors
the tears
our nation’s darkest day
what grows in ash?
what phoenix can arise
afterwards the flags
the thousands of flags, the cars enraged as they drove
the tanks that rolled
the torture that unfolded
ten years after
even darker here
the American heart
war, wounded
the boys without legs, without arms
who holds them in the dark?
~
we mourn our dead
we rise ghostly from such ash
look to each other
for what we remember best
a childhood full of cowboys and indians in vacant lots
a pledge of allegiance
red stripes, white stars, a blue field
a torch upheld
the price of war
how terrible that cost
~
VALENTINE BONNAIRE - WRITER 