Friends,
For those of you who don't know it, I am a firefighter. Today I lost close to 300 brothers and sisters. I came to work to this devastation, knowing one of my best friends is a captain in the New York City fire department and had to be in the midst of the turmoil. After a day of emotional draining, here is what my weary mind produced.
A Tear Fell
--------------------
A tear fell, and was heard around the world.
Morning broke, bright and clear.
A new day, full of hope, full of promise.
Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters-
Family. They kissed, they hugged, they said goodbye.
They would meet again,
Meet when the duties of the day were fulfilled.
Then a tear fell, and was heard around the world.
The unspeakable came to visit America,
Land of the Free.
Human-filled missiles. Balls of fire from the sky.
Twin towers. World icons. Now ominous infernos.
Open mouths, stares of disbelief.
Then, in a moment, the towers were gone.
A tear fell, and was heard around the world.
Piles of rubble remained where hours before
Thousands appeared for a normal day of toil.
Dads, moms, sons and daughters-
If they forgot to say goodbye they never would.
Gone in a moment, gone in horror, hurled to their
deaths.
America rallied. More important, the World rallied.
A tear fell, and was heard around the world.
Rescuers by the hundreds died
When the behemoths came down.
The hopeless, the helpless, jumped to their deaths,
Hundreds of feet in the air, plummeting like birds,
Forgotten how to fly.
But they will not be forgotten. Ever.
A tear fell, and was heard around the world.
Broken bodies, broken homes, broken dreams.
The cries of those buried alive went unheard.
But some, by the mercy of God, were saved.
Somehow, some way, their angels found them,
Hovering there, weeping, praying.
Calling on that very God their nation had forgotten.
People died that autumn day.
People died by the hundreds.
Defenseless people died without warning.
From the air, they died. From the towers, they died.
They came to rescue their fellow man, and they died.
A monument will rise there, on hallowed ground,
For a tear fell, and it was heard around the world.

-Kirby Jonas, September 11, 2001
New York City Fireman