Blue blue skies filled with sunshine
voices tinkling like crystal chimes
as children laugh and play
on this normal september day.
It's early morning and people are
yawning the sleep out of their bodies
stretching the energy back into their smiles.
Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers
parents and their children  all going about
the day without a care in the world.
Radios blast with bits of news from around
the world  this and that  but nothing that really
concerns them  being half a world away.
The traffic is snarled as usual with tempers
flaring  horns blaring and a constant drumming
of minds multi-tasking  not taking in their
surroundings  not really enjoying the blueness
before entering stark cubicles  becoming drones
in the collective beehive that seems to dominate life.
Some scan the newspaper while they wait for taxis
for buses  or mindlessly being herding from street
corner to street corner  sighing in frustration as
noisy teenagers go trip tripping along to school
and small gaggles of children push and flit
and buzz  little dragonflies with a sense of purpose
only they can know    their dance one
we can only remember before life became so mundane.
There is a separateness about that life  a singularly
focused purpose that plays from nine to five with little
deviation  fun something done on the weekends or
after the rent  mortgage  tuition  toy payments are made.
And on such a crisp clean day who would stop to
notice the roar of a plane  the silent cry of a way of life
teetering on the brink of death  the earth shuddering
with every apathetic breath we take?
Only when fire erupts and people dangle from windows
plummeting to their deaths  as reality crashes into
the twin symbols of world order do we even
pull ourselves from the hive mentality.
Only when something so unbelievable  so unwarranted
so carefully and diligently planned comes to fruition do we
stop to notice the sudden quiet as life stands still.
Busy minds are suddenly filled with prayer
the stark truth of what has been done oozing through
the mundane  pulling us out of the morass and into
the harsh realization that it isn't half a  world away
the sky is no longer blue
and children are no longer pushing and dancing their way
along the road to a planned future.
The streets are now crammed   held in gridlock  as people flee
the unimaginable events that continue to unfold.
And as firefighters  policemen rescue workers
rush to do their jobs  running neck and neck
their hearts thumping with pride  they are the only ones
within the city that truly feel the pulse of reality
always on the brink  never taking life too easy.
The phrase, 'first in and last out' is a truth they live with
a reality many die with and something a country will
have to view endlessly in the days to come.
The truth is heroism like freedom  comes at a price.
And as the days grind by and the toll rises
shock is replaced by anger  fists raised  fingers pointed
the world continues to hold its collective breath
waiting for the truth of who would
strike such a shameful blow?
And as the nation responds another truth is
never more evident:  innocence is something
we didn't even see slipping from between our fingers.
With life now changed  familiar irritants like
congested traffic  boisterous children and busy
airports seem less so  their absence like the
nattering noise of an alarm clock
waking us up to life  reminding us to reach out
and fill the void left by 5,000 strong.

 (c) Trish Shields
091501