As a native New Yorker, I pride myself on being able to deal with anything. It's the way New Yorkers are raised. I was getting ready for an audition on 9/11 when the first plane hit. At first, I thought it was just an accident then when the second plane hit I realized New York had been attacked. I was lucky. Because I was still home in The Bronx when it happened. A few of my friends were downtown and one friend about three blocks from World Trade Center. Everyone I knew came out physically unscathed.
The weeks after you heard stories of a friend of a friend who died at WTC. Once you hit Union Square on 14th street, there were flyers posted of pictures of loves ones lost. Families still trying to find them or putting a memorial to them. Even now, when I go to lower Manhattan. The skyline is curiously empty. Where WTC stood is an unnaturalness to the void that lays there. My heart goes out to those lost in New York, D.C. and in the planes that were commandeered. I shall never forget that day, I'm sure many of us never will.
This is the first stanza of the poem: Death Shall Have No Dominion by Dylan Thomas. It feels appropriate on this day.
And death shall have no dominion.
Dead mean naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
6 comments:
September 11th touched every American...even those tucked safe away in the Mid-West. It is good for us to hear a local perspective on this horrible day.
it is my saddest memory in this country. we all learned a lot specifically about courage and tolerence.
Stay safe my new yorker mermaid;-)
9/11 and the Space Shuttle disaster are 2 of the most life changing moments I can recall. I shall never forget either of them as long as I live. I'm glad you and your family/friends were home safe. I wish everyone could have been. Beautiful poem.
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts on this day with me. It is a sad day for all of us no matter where we live.
I can't imagine what you must have gone through, the collective pain from all those people in your city. I am just very grateful you are here with us today.
I was preparing dinner here when that happened.My husband was watching CNN and they were doing a live cover. He called me frantically and said I had to see what was going on. So I walk into the living room and see this building all smoking up and I tell him that that must be some Die Hard kind ov' action movie. It just wouldn't sink into my consciousness that it was for real. Then the second plane struck and we were just soooo horrified. "Did that just happen?!" I had to ask again and again. Then I thought of my friends there and my cousins...
"But...but..but..that's the United States..that's New York..How can that happen there??" I just kept on asking...
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