|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
A MOMENT OF HISTORY The sun, still young above Manhattan, smiled upon the hurried throng. Miss Liberty in stately posture raised her torch to freedom's song. Great ships and craft on nearby waters, restless wakes on sapphire swells, moved about their daily ventures, chuffing, churning, chiming bells. Without a warning, shafts of evil struck from out the cobalt sky, smashing spires so nobly rendered. Stunned, we watched our neighbors die. Wounded spirits, seized with terror, awed by deadly flames before, now watch transfixed as towers tumble, crushing lives from floor to floor. How can the soul, the heart, the mind, make sense of carnage rudely wrought upon those thousands buried there, where hostile act was never sought? Where can justice, purpose, hope, be found within that flaming bier that lies in ruins in the streets amid our anguish, doubt and fear? And then we watched those nameless shapes, engulfed in dust and shrouded light, face hours of weary toil and danger through those days of endless night. Here, suddenly, we found our answer; courage in the face of fear. Strengthened thus we came together, confident the future's clear. No evil in the world can prosper, where it meets our will to stand, braced with steadfast faith and courage born of freedom's cherished hand. John Hansen, Williamsburg. |
|
||