Ten Seconds

Ten seconds is a very long time
When that’s all you have to live
There’s time enough to make your peace
But not time enough to give…

…to give your sweetheart one more hug
To squeeze her oh so tight	
To give your kids the assurance that
Everything will be all right

From the moment I began this job	
I’ve prepared myself for this day
So now as He suddenly calls me home
It seems I already know the way

Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom
Like a freight train bearing down
I instantly knew how this would end
That’s when I felt His peace surround…

…surround my body, surround my soul
Surround my brothers in arms
I felt His love, like a giant cloak
Come to shelter us from harm

While answering the call that day
I saw the second plane
It glided through the cloudless sky
Then burst into fire-like rain

It rained down fire, it rained down dust
It rained down bodies, too
It seemed that no matter how we tried	
There was nothing we could do

We knew that people trapped above
The holes that ripped the towers
Could never escape their awful fate
Without the aid of His heavenly powers

I prayed that day, a silent prayer
As I stepped inside the lobby
I knew but for the grace of God
We’d be destined to recovering bodies

Still we began climbing the narrow stairs
While others were heading out
As we passed these scared civilians
Some began to shout…

“God bless you, our brave firemen
You’re heroes to us all”
But we were merely doing our jobs
Just answering the call

We knew when we began this fight
That we all would not survive
But by risking our lives for those of others
We keep the hope alive

The hope that good will conquer all
That God will help us through
Reward us all with eternal life
As our souls begin anew

I saw the face of God that day
As He led me from this place
His will, not ours, will be done
I have to accept this fact with grace

I understood, at once, that day
What firefighters were sent here for
Watch over the masses as best we can
Of no man could you ask more

Ten seconds is a very long time…
Twenty years but a drop in the bucket…

new yorkwarrhyme

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