Evil incarnate soared that day
then plunged metal-searing hot,
into the hearts of thousands.
We reeled through dust laden,
tear and shock stained weeks –
searching, then praying
for departed souls.
Six-thousand-two-hundred-
and-four days have passed.
For many, all colored
by loss tinctured dawns.
It’s Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets….and coincidentally, the 17th anniversary of 9-11. Amaya is hosting and asks us to go “on a loop.” Return to a poem we wrote/posted on a previous September 11th and take a word or phrase from that poem to create a new one. We were in our beloved Provincetown, at the very tip of Cape Cod, on September 11th, 2016 — as we are today. I posted a poem then, Cape Cod Lure, that included the phrase “tinctured dawns” which is used again in this 9-11 commemorative poem. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come join us!
lillian the home poet 
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Dorna.
LikeLike
Great phrase to use… a day we will all remember… even those of us on the other side of the world… and the consequences are still felt from that day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, sadly they are.
LikeLike
I think the lines
‘…plunged metal-searing hot,
into the hearts of thousands’
is a powerful one, Lill – 9/11 plunged into the hearts of the whole world..
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was a day that shocked the world. I have to say….since I’m catching up on all my reading this morning from the calm and quiet by the ocean in Provincetown, it has been somewhat depressing to read all these poems in one sitting. But folks’ words are amazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“loss tinctures dawns” very well describes the kind of mass bereavement we experience as a people, under a sun and a sky that will somehow never be as bright.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes…..and the world woke under a new dawn the next day.
LikeLike
Excellent in its message and its brevity–your last line is killer.Of course, I had trouble writing a short poem. Like the day they shot JFK, 9/11 is seared into my soul.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Glenn. Yes – I too remember that day in November. Sadly, there have been far too many days that must be etched in far too many peoples’ memories.
LikeLike
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the descriptiveness here: “colored
by loss tinctured dawns”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that you included the number of days that has passed. Grief is often measured this way, each day seeming longer than it should.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For those directly affected by a painful and sudden loss, those days keep coming and closure can never come.
LikeLike
You have captured the tragedy and its resounding tremors very well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“resounding tremors” — a very good way to say it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Into the hearts” indeed, makes me bow my head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Lona.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s shocking how present it still is. Powerful poem, Lillian.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For many, it will always be too present. For others, it rears its head annually on 9-11.
LikeLike
I love the tinctured dawns image. Glad you chose to use it again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
LikeLike
tear and shock stained weeks – this was so heart breaking Lilian but described the emotion percisely, for some it lasted into years and then some more
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. For some, it aches too close still.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful phrases that speak for us all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Beverly.
LikeLike
What a wonderful phrase to use. It is something we will never forget.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For some, they remember every day. For others, the yearly anniversary brings it all back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done Lillian. You went straight to the heart of that tragic day. Some things time does not heal no matter how many days go by.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. For some, the pain and grief continues.
LikeLiked by 1 person