A rich man’s son embraces
a theology of death, and
September blue is split open,
shredded in an avalanche
of paper, steel, concrete,
glass, smoke, jet-fueled fire,
a jihad of technology.
A little speck
of the Word,
engulfed in dust,
buried in debris,
choking in a rain
without water,
endures.
This poem is submitted to the prompt today by dVerse Poets, and is one of the most difficult things I’ve chosen to write. To see more poems, please visit dVerse Poets.
The photograph is of St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church Wall Street sits directly across the street from the World Trade Center. The chapel endured the rain of debris, but the only damage was one cracked window. In the days following 9/11, it became a makeshift memorial for the 3,000 people who died that day.
Three years after 9/11, I had to attend a court hearing for work in lower Manhattan. I walked to Ground Zero, joining hundreds of other people milling about the site, then just a huge gaping hole cleared of debris. The amazing thing was that, despite all of the people, the silence was profound. No words could describe what was, and wasn’t, there.
yes, it does endure and even thrive in spite of...really nice write glynn...
ReplyDeleteStunning Glynn! You have captured what happened that day through an authentic and brief synopsis of perfect verse.
ReplyDeletea nice write, Glynn.
ReplyDeletesilenced by this ....
ReplyDeleteaccurate brevity drives home a stark set of images - well written and very effective - smart craft Glynn
ReplyDeleteYour capitalization of "word" reveals another theology; alas, for some of us, that word is utter silence.
ReplyDeletePowerful image - your words here, Glynn. I've heard that silence at ground zero. Our oldest son was a plebe at Kings Point. We'd flown home out of JFK not 36 hours before the world changed. One year later, and many times since, we made our way past Wall Street into the silence at Ground Zero. It was the first thing we all noticed that first year. It was a holy sobering silence.
ReplyDeleteTrinity Chruch building, the third.
ReplyDeleteNever knew about the church, great piece, really resonates with the churches endurance.
ReplyDeleteSo simply said and so sad
ReplyDeleteGreat work, Glynn. The juxtaposed image of the perfect September blue with so much shattered Word blizzarding Trinity Cathedral is haunting. My dad lived down near the Towers in the mid-70s and I stayed with him one summer between semesters of college. We went to services at Trinity several Sundays and it was a magnificent relic of old Manhattan (Alexander Hamilton is buried there, after losing his famous duel), God's world set next to modern Mammon's. (I recall the music master of the time was a young longhair, who had set the mass to a sort of Emerson Lake +Palmer riff, complete with lights strobing throughout the dark hallows of the cathedral.) Your final lines gave an ironic ring to Lowell's line from "Quaker Graveyard," "The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." As do we, albeit covered still with that black rain. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteyes - that is what endures..fine write glynn
ReplyDeleteI still don't get it. I listened to a report on the radio this morning telling me that politics creates terrorists, the race for power, I must say that any acts of mindless violence like this are not the results of politics, but a sick bitter and twisted few. Thansk for sharing this Glynn
ReplyDeleteYou captured the violence and hope of that day... the speck of the Word...how it endures ~
ReplyDeleteOne of your key words is "endure"... May whose who still hurt endure.
ReplyDelete"A little speck
ReplyDeleteof the Word,
engulfed in dust,
buried in debris,
choking in a rain
without water,
endures."
i'd like to quote the whole poem back to you - but that would be silly. it's very fine, and brought me to tears with its delicate yet powerful expression of the darkness of that day, yet the hope that remains...
We wonder how and why, yet bask in the miraculous discoveries of small unscarred bits. Wonderful poetry.
ReplyDeleteBeth
You prove that what is the most difficult to write often has the most to say. The truth of your perception, that this evil came from the twisted reinterpretation by one sick man of a Word, shows both the power of words and ideas misused, and in your close, the power of the spirit to tackle the results and do its best to find balance. Fine write on a most challenging theme.
ReplyDeleteOh, Glynn, this is a powerful and well done piece on such a difficult topic. i wrote and re-wrote and really struggled to give the proper due to the enormity of such a tragic event. this is perfect, and i enjoyed hearing you read as well. thank you :)
ReplyDeleteThat second stanza stands on its own.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most moving sights at Trinity is the ribbons tied to the iron fences. When I was last there, it was raining and the ribbons were thick and multi-colored and heart-felt testament to sorrows.
'choking in a rain without water' ~ so powerful ~ choked ~ and yes endures ~ still seems so unreal ~ great write Glyn ~ glad you put pen to thoughts ~ Lib
ReplyDeleteGlynn x x
ReplyDelete'with a speck of the Word' enduring... made me think of John 1:5
ReplyDeletethe light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
choking in a rain
without water...
overwhelming imagery
Glynn this such a perfect piece and so well written. You have really captured this time and done such a wonderful tribute to all. I am so happy that I came here to read this thank you for sharing
ReplyDeletehttp://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/11/the-sorrow-of-our-times/
"Theology of death resonates...as well as speck of the Word..." A concise poetic truth, Glynn.
ReplyDeleteLove the "jihad of technology" and the "speck of the Word" that "endures". Nicely written.
ReplyDelete