Janet Rattay

WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER… 9/11

We will always remember the sky was blue,
People passing people, “Good Morning, How Are You?”
So innocent they were as they started their day,
And the morning so peaceful wasn’t to stay.

They left fathers, mothers, husbands, wives,
Children yet to live their orphaned lives.
The terror of the planes hitting in full view,
What really was happening no one knew.

Screaming, shouting, running scared,
The police, the firemen to calm their fears.
Weeping, praying, let us live,
It took so much, nothing left to give.

The evil took hold that day in September,
The whole world united, we’ll always remember.
How much America means to me,
The Home of the Brave and Land of the Free.

SEPTEMBER 11th ANNIVERSARY

We’re living in dangerous times,
our days of uncertainty linger.
We bring to the forefront of our mind
September 11, the two-year anniversary.
Like so many other dates embedded
in our hearts that we reflect on,
where we were, what we were doing
days we’ll never forget.
We’re supposed to remember the good times
but somehow they’re overshadowed
by what we’ve endured and by the fear
of what is to come.
Being glued to our television sets
we can only imagine the terror of the victims,
their families, the workers who saw first-hand
works of terrorism, the whole world mourning.
We thank the young men and women who are
serving today in faraway places with courage
and determination.
They believe in freedom.
We pray to our God for Peace.

©Copyright September 11, 2003 by Janet Rattay

FORTY ORDINARY PEOPLE

Forty ordinary people
became heroes on that given day
11 September 2001
United Flight 93
10:06 a.m.
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
20 handsome men
20 beautiful women
made the ultimate sacrifice
and brought the message
that freedom has always
been worth fighting for
From all walks of life
little did these
forty ordinary people
know on that morning
they would change
the solitude of the mountains
and fields of that town
their choice to defend
and protect our liberties
while leaving behind
lives as they knew them
their children, wives, husbands,
their parents, friends, and country
The rubble has long since been
cleared away, new grass planted
A once quiet town now has
visitors from all over
busloads of people down
an old country lane
If you blink an eye
you just might miss it
A once ordinary town
Forty ordinary people
A feeling of serenity overcomes
you as you gaze at the
American flag in the middle
of the hallowed ground
You see the sight from a short distance
for it is reserved for the families now
It’s peaceful there and
the message that’s left behind
etched in our hearts and memory
to be remembered forever
their courage, their bravery
Forty ordinary people
Forty ordinary people
Heroes

Author’s Note: This past week I was able to go on a one day bus trip to Shanksville, Pennsylvania where United Flight 93 crashed on 9/11. It was so overwhelming to be there that it prompted the poem Forty Ordinary People.