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Special Update
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I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall in the clear
blue sky, feeling a violent blow in my side, and I am a towering inferno of pain
and suffering imploding upon myself and collapsing to the ground. May I rest in peace.
I am a terrified passenger on a hijacked airplane not knowing where we are going
or that I am riding on fuel tanks that will be instruments of death, and I am a worker
arriving at my office not knowing that in just a moment my future will be obliterated.
May I rest in peace.
I am a pigeon in the plaza between the two towers eating crumbs from someone's breakfast
when fire rains down on me from the skies, and I am a bed of flowers admired daily
by thousands of tourists now buried under five stories of rubble. May I rest in peace.
I am a firefighter sent into dark corridors of smoke and debris on a mission of mercy
only to have it collapse around me, and I am a rescue worker risking my life to save
lives who is very aware that I may not make it out alive. May I rest in peace.
I am a survivor who has fled down the stairs and out of the building to safety who
knows that nothing will ever be the same in my soul again, and I am a doctor in a
hospital treating patients burned from head to toe who knows that these horrible
images will remain in my mind forever. May I know peace.
I am a tourist in Times Square looking up at the giant TV screens thinking I'm seeing
a disaster movie as I watch the Twin Towers crash to the ground, and I am a New York
woman sending e-mails to friends and family letting them know that I am safe. May
I know peace.
I am a piece of paper that was on someone's desk this morning and now I'm debris
scattered by the wind across lower Manhattan, and I am a stone in the graveyard at
Trinity Church covered with soot from the buildings that once stood proudly above
me, death meeting death. May I rest in peace.
I am a dog sniffing in the rubble for signs of life, doing my best to be of service,
and I am a blood donor waiting in line to make a simple but very needed contribution
for the victims. May I know peace.
I am a resident in an apartment in downtown New York who has been forced to evacuate
my home, and I am a resident in an apartment uptown who has walked 100 blocks home
in a stream of other refugees. May I know peace.
I am a family member who has just learned that someone I love has died, and I am
a pastor who must comfort someone who has suffered a heart-breaking loss. May I know
peace.
I am a loyal American who feels violated and vows to stand behind any action it takes
to wipe terrorists off the face of the earth, and I am a loyal American who feels
violated and worries that people who look and sound like me are all going to be blamed
for this tragedy. May I know peace.
I am a frightened city dweller who wonders whether I'll ever feel safe in a skyscraper
again, and I am a pilot who wonders whether there will ever be a way to make the
skies truly safe. May I know peace.
I am the owner of a small store with five employees that has been put out of business
by this tragedy, and I am an executive in a multinational corporation who is concerned
about the cost of doing business in a terrorized world. May I know peace.
I am a visitor to New York City who purchases postcards of the World Trade Center
Twin Towers that are no more, and I am a television reporter trying to put into words
the terrible things I have seen. May I know peace.
I am a boy in New Jersey waiting for a father who will never come home, and I am
a boy in a faraway country rejoicing in the streets of my village because someone
has hurt the hated Americans. May I know peace.
I am a general talking into the microphones about how we must stop the terrorist
cowards who have perpetrated this heinous crime, and I am an intelligence officer
trying to discern how such a thing could have happened on American soil, and I am
a city official trying to find ways to alleviate the suffering of my people. May
I know peace.
I am a terrorist whose hatred for America knows no limit and I am willing to die
to prove it, and I am a terrorist sympathizer standing with all the enemies of American
capitalism and imperialism, and I am a master strategist for a terrorist group who
planned this abomination. My heart is not yet capable of openness, tolerance, and
loving. May I know peace.
I am a citizen of the world glued to my television set, fighting back my rage and
despair at these horrible events, and I am a person of faith struggling to forgive
the unforgivable, praying for the consolation of those who have lost loved ones,
calling upon the merciful beneficence of God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power. May
I know peace.
I am a child of God who believes that we are all children of God and we are all part
of each other. May we all know peace.