Gaping holes
Ball of flames
Shattered glass
Ripped metal
Ash-covered fire trucks
Running police cars
Pillow thick smoke
Bruises to a city

Eerie shakes
Sudden rattles
Puff of ash
Scrambling firefighters
Frantic cameramen
Shepherding police
Frightened pedestrians
Collapse of a brother

As one who has lost, I'm sympathetic
As one who's patriotic, I'm silenced
As one who has failed, I'm reminded
As one who is proud, I'm defeated

Hanging cloud
Pervading whiteness
Clear blue sky
A sobbing witness
Shrouded tower
Ever-present confusion
A crack, the fall
Unfolding destruction

Glowing sunlight
Awakening city
Clinging ash clouds
Lowered skyline
Arabs celebrating
World stage mourning
8:45, Wednesday
A moment of silence

As one who has lost, I'm sympathetic
As one who's patriotic, I'm silenced
As one who has failed, I'm reminded
As one who is proud, I'm defeated

It's like
A slap to the face
A punch in the gut
A kick to the shin
A stab in the back
A jab to the jaw
A shot in the chest
A pain so indescribable...

Smoldering aluminum
Indented structures
Charred buildings
Blackened crater
Ash-covered sidewalks
Street side mortuaries
Grounded planes
A nation on hold

As one who has lost, I'm sympathetic
As one who's patriotic, I'm silenced
As one who has failed, I'm reminded
As one who is proud, I'm defeated

As an optimist, I'm hopeful
As a realist I'm doubtful
As an American, I'm angered
As a human being, I'm disgusted