~*~ Return To Innocence ~*~

Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven




Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven.
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait.

~*~*~*~
A bearded man with stove pipe hat
steps forward saying
"Lets sit and chat."

~*~*~*~
They settle down in a seat of clouds,
A man named Martin shout out proud,
" I have a dream!" and once he did,
the new comer said, " your dream it still lives".

~*~*~*~
Groups of soldiers in blue and gray,
Others in khaki and green they say,
"We're from Bull Run, Yourktown, the Maine"
the newcomer said, "you died not in vain".

~*~*~*~
From a man on stick one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear".
The newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test".

~*~*~*~
"Courage doesn't hide in caves,
you can't bury freedom in a grave".
The newcomer had heard this voice before,
a distant yankees twang from Hyannisport shores.

~*~*~*~
A silence fell within the mist
somehow the newcomer knew that this
meant time had come for her to say
what was in the hearts of
the five thousand plus that day!

~*~*~*~
"Back on earth, we wrote reports,
watched our children play in sports,
worked in gardens, sang our songs,
went to church and clipped coupons".

~*~*~*~
"We smiled we laughed, we cried,
we fought, unlike you great we are not"

~*~*~*~
The tall man in the stove pipe hat
stood and said "Don't talk like that!"
Look at your country, look and see
you died for freedom, just like me!"

~*~*~*~
Then, before them all appeared a scene
of rubbled streets and twisted beams.
Death, destruction, smoke and dust,
and people working, just 'cause they must.

~*~*~*~
Hauling ash, lifting stones,
knee deep in hell but not alone.

~*~*~*~
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman,
Yellowman side by side helping their fellow man!"
So, said Martin, as he watched the scene,
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

~*~*~*~
Down below three fireman raised
three colors high into ash 'n haze.
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44.

~*~*~*~
The man on sticks studied everything
closely, Then shared his perceptions
on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow, but I don't see fear."

~*~*~*~
"You left behind husbands and wives.
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong,
but look very closely, you're not really gone!"

~*~*~*~
All of those people, even those
who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you.
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together,
together as one!"

~*~*~*~
With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
Five thousand plus heroes, newcomers to heaven
On this day, Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven.




I received this as an e-mail
the author is unknown,
if you are the author or know of
the author, please contact me
so that I might give them credit where the credit is due.