WE MUST NEVER FORGET By ANTOINETTE DENISE JOHNSON

WE MUST 

SEPTEMBER 11,2001





I almost let another September 11th pass by without writing something.

For some odd reason, beyond my understanding, I as a poet find it very difficult

to write something when it is very close to my heart. When it is too painful

and I don’t want to remember, I have the tendency to shut down poetically.

A classic example is a poem in my book, "VICTIM! VICTORIOUS!"

called “LOVE LOST AT SEA”. It took

me over twenty years to revisit that story of how I lost my fiancé when I was nineteen years old.

I just did not want to play that tape in my mind again.

Though I did not know anyone personally who perished on that fateful day, I don’t think

anyone with a soul, and a heartbeat could know of the horrifying travesty, without feeling

the pain and sorrow.

Okay I’ll just say it, “a terrorist attack against the United States of America!

Who could know about it without feeling the heartache, seeing the devastation, seeing the pictures on the news back in 2001, watching, yet not believing what is right there in front of you…….Over…..and

Over……again!

The World Trade Center and Pentagon didn’t just go down that day! People went down!
 People like you and me, who just went to work

to try to earn a living.Living their lives, as they did every single day, as they had a right

to do. People lost their lives who were trained and dedicated to saving our lives. Now their

families still grieve for them, and will miss them every day, for the rest of their lives.

I saw a picture on the web today, that I had never seen before, I saw a picture of the

plane as it was heading towards The World Trade Center. I would love to know, who had their camera

set,  and ready to take that picture? Who could have possibly known, that at that precise moment 8:46am,

a suicidal maniac, was going to become a mass murderer?

Out of respect for the grieving, I refuse to post that picture, but it shouldn’t be hard to find.

See, when my fiancé’s body was found many years ago, I remember seeing it on the news, in a garbage bag!

That is one of the worst forms of disrespect, that you could ever experience.

If it’s never happened to you, there is no way you could know how that feels, and I pray that you won’t!

Okay, I’ll try to stop rambling, I tend to do that when I’m avoiding something.

I have so many images of the people affected directly and indirectly in my mind, and I think it is rude to be

graphic, because though it seemed like we were watching a horror movie, with people walking, covered in

 ashes, as the plumes of smoke was all that remained of the Twin Towers, in the background. This was no

 movie, it was real, real people, real lives lost. I reached for the right words to tell my child that this was real,

 not an upcoming box office hit! While ironing clothes, and trying to act “normal“, as we went about our day!
So, difficult

 to describe with words, how I was feeling, other than pure horror, and shock!

What makes it seem a little different than the cataclysm of a natural disaster, is that this was planned!

This was meticulously man made, not an accident, not God, not religion. This was man that created this

 monster! And it is still a terrifying monster to reminisce about to this day. September 11th, nine years later. It

 still hurts to know of so much hatred in this world. It is so much more difficult to carry the burden of hatred

 and resentment, than to carry love in an open heart, with an open mind. We are all more alike than we are

 different, if we all just took a moment to realize that, and act like that, than we could change so much!

Though this is totally not about religion, I was taught that there is One God, I believe, it doesn’t matter what

 you call Him, or if you call Him “Her.” The point is, whether you read the Bible or the Quran, if you’re

 Christian or Muslim, those written words are meaningless, if you read them, pray, and go kill people in the

 name of yourself, your God, whatever!….. Religion is supposed to make you feel good, and want to be a

 better person, and make this world a better world to live in.

 Here in America, we are supposed to be free to

 choose our own religion! Plain and simple. worship who or what you please, just don’t try to hurt

 anyone in the process, even if their beliefs differ from yours.

Remember September 11, 2001. And remember we are all more alike than we are different.

In Loving Memory of All Lives Lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001.

If you read this, and have loss a loved one to this catastrophic event, my deepest heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to you and yours, forever!~ Feel free to leave their names in the comment box, and a shared memory of them if you would like. Thank you for reading my thoughts.

~Antoinette Denise Johnson



Copyright ©2010

All Rights Reserved