September 11: a Memory

Were you there like me to see the fire and the smoke The gray ash that changed the complexion of New York To bite on anguish, and feel the congested eyes choke O cruel day in September when all our destinies fork! How can I forget, and the tyrants tyranny of laws rise Veil in clouds of vigilante justice before our awed eyes How can I forget crumbling facade of Babel's bright lies The bodies free falling grief from grim September skies And he who dresses the mannequins still at large roam While they search my shoes at airports looking for him Fear has made us prisoners in the freedom of our home We crawl before cringeless abyss and tremble at the brim From my third floor classroom window I still remember Lessons of disbelief, people shaken in the street like leaf I have no mosque, nor temple left for that sick September Deed, my garish prayers groan in little grimaces of grief.