September 11, 2001

By
Glenn Hague

 It started out just a day in September,
But it became a day to remember.

Something violent was done to our nation.
It shook America to its very foundation.

There stood those Towers so proud and so tall
No one suspected that they ever would fall.

8:45 a plane appeared. Was it just flying by?
It looked like all others up there in the sky.

Suddenly, it veered, smashing that Tower so tall
A big gaping hole became a huge fiery wall.

People looking up could hardly believe their eyes
This just wasn’t happening; it was a total surprise.

They couldn’t digest what they had just seen
Said one to another, "What does this mean?"

TV cameras zoomed in on the smoke and the fire
To those trapped inside, their funeral pyre.

Debris rained down on all below
People jumping from windows, the cameras did show.

Heat so intense it melted the steel
All that were watching thought it couldn’t be real.

Police and firemen went straight to their task
They looked like aliens in their coveralls and mask.

9:03, a second plane came after the first
It hit the second Tower, with another fiery burst.

9:43, a third plane, to Virginia it came
It crashed into the Pentagon with more fire and flame. 

10:05, the first Tower came down with a roar
Telescoping on itself, burning floor after floor.

10:10, the stricken part of the Pentagon falls sending black smoke in the air
The entire building is evacuated, something most rare.

At this same time, a fourth plane in Pennsylvania did crash
It left a huge hole in the earth all blackened with ash.

Back at the Trade Center, water everywhere streamed
When struck by the sunshine, it glistened and gleamed.

For days, TV Cameras showed the work going on
Today, it’s the same, men still working from night until dawn.

This clean-up will go on "til all looks as good as before
Would New York City settle for anything more?

In all of that carnage, some survivors were found
Pulled out alive from that still smoking mound.

10:28, the second Tower collapses, a most horrible sight
It imploded, then fell from its towering height.

Ambulances, fire trucks, police cars are seen
The nearby streets become a hospital scene.

The wounded were treated right out in the air
Doctors and Nurses were rushed everywhere.

10:56, police believed some could still be alive
Police dogs are brought in, should any survive.

5:20, Building 7 of the complex, now it too did fall
Its debris was added to the gloom and the pall.

Survivors told later of going down stairs after stairs
Descents that were filled with curses or prayer.

All sorts of things floating around made up the debris
Making the sun very difficult to see. 

Digging began on that very first day
When it is finished, they’ll stop, the workers all say.

Nearby streets mushroomed with wall after wall
Covered with photographs. Relatives asked, "Have you seen them all?"

Out of all this hell came a sight for sore eyes
American flags, waving everywhere in the dust laden skies.

Cars, trucks and buses with flags, on windows and doors
Showing them proudly, mine, and hopefully, yours.

Businesses, too, put out flags where they could be seen
Patriotism fervor is here, for years unforeseen.

Americans wear their red, white, and blue
Proud of their country, it looks certainly true.

September 11 spawned benefits and concerts, millions were raised
At each one, our fallen were remembered and praised.

Firemen’s boots even, were used for donations, a pretty good place
Money for a good cause can go in any old space.

At these gatherings patriotic music, always such a big part
Familiar melodies that stir you and catch at your heart.

Prayer services and memorials held in Churches, and out
America will never forget the 11th, of that there’s no doubt.

Sometimes good can come out of bad
A spirit of patriotism flourished, though its cause was so sad.

An ecumenical spirit is felt and grows every day
Let us pray God that it always will stay.

Each plane was hijacked, a sad but true fact
These hijackers knew the odds most surely were stacked.

If they die killing an enemy, their Paradise is gained
Their place in Heaven is surely obtained.

These misguided souls declared they’d set the world right
In terror they show off their power and might.

They try to bring everyone to their evil side
Followers have joined them from far and wide.

All of this evil feeds on nothing but hate
Their demonstrations are held at a mind-boggling rate.

They harp on a small slight which festers and grows
They influence others crying, "Death to our foes."

Their leaders spew out lie after lie
They claim that one day all Americans will die.

September put America in this awful war
It isn’t like any we’ve been in before.

Previously, we knew where our foes could be found
This one is different. Enemies even can come from under the ground.

Out in the desert there are caves everywhere
Armies and weapons are hidden, impossible to find from the air.

Refugees by the thousands flee this evil regime
But for some, leaving their homeland is only a dream.

Immediately our country joined itself to this fight
We’ve vowed that together we’ll set everything right.

For the ones whom so cruelly and needlessly have died
Our leaders have vowed each one will be justified.

We’ll vindicate those lost on that day in September
Our immediate sorrow may pass, but we’ll always remember.

Our President assures defeat for these evil men
America will finish, victorious, what they did begin.

©Glenn W. Hague October 2001