It doesn’t seem like it’s been ten years since our nation was rocked by a group of cowards who couldn’t seem to appreciate the freedoms and love for human life that our great country stands to uphold. Many of us has a memory of that day burned into our heads and most can recall those memories like they were yesterday. I was unloading a load of hospital waiting room chairs in northern Manhattan at the moment that the planes hit the towers. I was allowed to leave the city and drive, toll free, out onto Long Island where I spent three days parked in a shopping complex in the town of Bohemia, watching fighter jets make their rounds patrolling the city. The main bridges were closed to vehicular traffic, so trying to escape to the west was not an option. I just took the advice of a local officer and took advantage of the free trip across the Throgs Neck Bridge to find a safe place to park and wait. Many of you may have read the poem I wrote in the days following 9-11 titled, “Small Screen Heroes” – a poem I wrote with raw emotion in only six minutes. In that poem, I give a poetic salute to our fighting men and women who defend our liberties at all costs. This poem, titled, “(random thoughts) Recalling 9-11” might serve as a follow-up to “Small Screen Heroes.” I just felt like writing down some of the things I picture in my mind when I think of that awful day ten years ago. If you lost a loved one in those attacks, my prayers go out to you. And if you, or someone you know, are fighting for our country on our behalf, I’d like you to know that I am greatly humbled and extremely proud to be under the protection of the world’s greatest fighting forces. God bless our troops!
(random thoughts)
RECALLING 9-11
By Trevor Hardwick
My, oh my, how time does fly,
People change, and so have I.
It’s hard to think of all that’s changed,
Life’s been shifted… rearranged.
Ten short years since we were hit,
A tragic day I won’t forget.
The towers fell, our neighbors died,
Collectively, a nation cried.
The thick black smoke, the clear blue sky,
The heroes of F.D.N.Y.
The pictures of the Pentagon,
The sense of being safe was gone.
That Pennsylvania field was plowed,
By twin jet engines, screaming loud.
Our enemies rejoiced that day,
But they’ll have their own price to pay!
I remember how it felt,
To see the hand that we’d been dealt.
When New York lost 3,000 souls,
The fighter jets were on patrol.
It gave me chills to see our troops,
Pull together as a group.
To fight an unseen enemy,
And do it all for you and me.
But here we are, ten years ahead,
Life’s been lost, and blood’s been shed.
Saddam Hussein is in the ground,
Bin Laden won’t be back around.
Appreciate, and don’t forget,
The heroes on your TV set.
They’re not just on the news, you see,
For it is they, who keep us free.