9-11

I was home from work that day.
My office was on John Street
One block away from the World Trade Center
I would often go there at lunchtime
To visit the shops
To buy fruit at the Green Market
To enjoy concerts on the esplanade

It was a gathering place
During the warm months of the year.
And one evening, I was fortunate enough
To dine in the Windows on the World Restaurant
That offered a spectacular view of the city
From the North Tower

But this day, I was awakened
By a familiar voice on the phone
Did you see the news?
A plane hit one of the Twin Towers

I turned on the television
And watched in real time
As it all unfolded
The mighty buildings
Collapsing
Into dust and debris
Flames and destruction
Falling bodies
Obliterated bones
And death

I watched
As exhausted firefighters
Sat down on the sidewalk and wept
I watched
As revelers in the streets of Afghanistan
Rejoiced at hearing the news
I watched
From my balcony in Brooklyn
Where I once could see the towers
But now there was an endless plume of smoke
That stretched across the sky

All those beautiful, precious lives
Gone

In the days that followed
We New Yorkers treated each other
More kindly, more gently
For we were all fragile
And felt capable of collapse