Promise Poetry Inspirational Poetry - I Promise You, poet Margaret Marie Lomio

The Destruction of the World Trade Center

September 11th, Two Thousand and One

Margaret Marie Lomio Copyright September 2001

This Morning

Many of us forgot (or didn't have time) to kiss our families goodbye.

Many of us had an argument about something very insignificant.

Many of us abruptly and harshly told a child no.

This morning, all over the country, we approached our day,

Thinking we could make up for any morning shortcomings

When we arrived in the evening to our home.

Instead, we watched in horror to see Washington's Pentagon

And New York City's Twin Towers crumble away

Taking with it our loved ones - our families, our friends,

our sense of security.

And in the moments after,

We saw the face of God.

In the volunteers standing in line for hours on end

So that the blood from their bodies may be drained

To pour into the bodies of others;

In the eyes of the child, too small to ascertain,

waving the American flag

As she is perched (safely?) atop her father's shoulders;

In the tears of the old-time vet who all too well remembers.

This morning, uniformed workers of all kinds

re-dedicated themselves to their jobs,

Never realizing that today was the day

that the cost of their commitment would be their lives.

Again, we saw the face of God.

In the rescuers, the men and women rushing into chaos,

Because there was a chance a life could be saved

and this is what they promised to do;

In these steadfast souls who refused to submit to their own fear, exhaustion, and devastation.

May we not wait for the moment of catastrophe

to call forth this absolute best in ourselves.

Let us freely offer it

Again and again and again.

One for the other.

This and every morning.

Let us hope we are not soon called again to this place of devastation.

Let us remember what we were willing to do

when another life cried out to us for relief.

Let us not forget what we must do to stand

United in these States of America.

I Still Do

In Memory of John Joseph Lomio, Sr.

So many times I still want to cry.

Some times, the tears arrive even without provocation.

I continue to wait for your footsteps,

Ignoring the knowledge

that you will never walk through that door;

I still strain to listen for your voice,

Although it's been so many years

since I've heard you speak.

I absolutely refuse to believe that I will not find you

Even though in my more logical moments,

I know that it is me who is lost and in need of finding -

Not you.

I know that I am selfish, and I am sorry.

So very sorry.

How dare I ask for another moment

When you had already dedicated

every minute of your life to me.

But I do dare.

I didn't have enough time

And then again,

A million years would not have been long enough

to spend with you.

I wanted you to teach me how to drive,

To see me for my prom,

To walk me into a new life at my wedding.

I wanted to see your eyes

The first time you saw the eyes

of your children's children.

I want to have dinner with you.

"Time heals" is a liar,

And no amount of good thoughts can stop the pain.

Although grown and enough time has passed

That my wounds should be healed,

I'm afraid that I am still the child

looking for her father.

God Bless America ?

Our cars are flooded with bumper stickers

and signs and flags flying;

Our homes are decorated

with red, white and blue ribbon, banners,

anything patriotic we can find.

We wear t-shirts telling others

to "Remember September 11th",

And we have that date, and other sentiments,

tattooed into our flesh as reminders...

At the height of the tragic shock,

we gave our time, our food, our money, our blood.

Yet day after day after day -

There are those of us who refuse

to greet our brothers and sisters

that we pass in the street.

We will not allow them

to merge into our lane of traffic.

We do not hold the door open for them

a second longer than we feel is actually necessary.

We are not offering our fellow American

a moment of acknowledgement.

We are not lifting someone up after they have fallen.

We do not keep them in our prayers.

It does not occur to us

that someone may be in need of something

that we have to offer.

And that we should give it....

Why, today, are we still waiting

for that moment of devastation -

before we offer ourselves to our neighbors,

our friends, our families ?

Why are we asking God to Bless America ?

Unless, of course, we're going to help Him,

and ourselves, by blessing each other.....