Empty Voices in Our Hearts: 9/11 Retrospective Poem

By Daniel Mer

We evolve to remember, always wanting to forget

Lives will not be forgotten, overshadowing feelings of upset

Pointing fingers of blame never really does much good

This eye for an eye reality leaves us blind with feelings misunderstood

Identities are fragile thin strings hold up support

Doesn’t take much to destroy, too easy to want to quit and abort

Motivation direct, stay strong when feeling weak

Hold yourself up when feeling down, stay quiet when others speak

It could have been any of us that day, praying in a dark stairwell

Or clutching an airplane seat, knowing our demise all too well

Every day heroes exalted with good intentions of care

Climbing up knowing they may never make it down the stairs

Painful seeing families at a loss, missing pieces of our puzzle

Empty voices inside our hearts, emotions all stirred and befuddled

No magic words can describe the loss or can bring back what has left

We all lost a big piece of ourselves that day, our good people laid to rest

Let us hold ourselves up; let’s rejoice the lives we have

Let’s rejoice the sense of hope, let these angels and heroes make us glad

Let us wish for better days, let us pray for hope and peace

Let us teach our young to love, let us practice what we preach

As all the smoke settles, let us see each other for who we are

Let us view one another's soul and still look up at the stars

On this day kiss and a hug your loved ones, let them know you’re grateful they’re here

Keep contributing to a place where we can live without the empty void of fear