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"It is one of the mysteries of our nature that a man,
all unprepared,
can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live.
There is but one reasonable explanation of it.
The intellect is stunned by the shock
and but gropingly gathers the meaning of the words.
The power to realize their full import is mercifully lacking."
- Mark Twain.
All the talking plastic faces from your fancy television screens seem to want to have their say on September 11th today.
I ... I almost could not bring myself to speak on it. Not on this day.
The dark winds of the Shadowlands are filled with the wailing of the lost souls remembering the horror, panic, and fear of their dying.
The shadows will soon be quiet.
I look about the land of the living and know most will have shrugged off the remembrance aside by tomorrow ... if it has even occurred to them today.
Old news. Bills to pay. Lives to live.
There is too much tragedy each heartbeat of each day for us to hold onto any one moment of keening for long ... especially if it is not our own pain.
No pain is so easy to bear as the other fellow's.
Yet the world is drowning in tragedy.
The rain forests are still burning, and our attention span has turned off the smoke detectors.
An African child's emancipated face wails on our TV screen, and we change the channel.
The Twin Towers were gutted by planes filled with screaming passengers.
And into today's camera lenses, faces are screwed and fists are shaken in hate,
as America is berated for its bigotry by those whose faith was shared by those terrorists.
We have learned nothing.
Each day we pass individuals who are struggling with their own private 9-11,
and we hurry by, perhaps irritated by their slow pace or distant, inward directed eyes.
We honor the valiant, the orphaned, and the murdered of 9-11 when we remember that tragedy has a very long shelf-life
and act with compassion towards each person we meet, knowing that everyone is having a harder time than they appear.
***
all unprepared,
can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live.
There is but one reasonable explanation of it.
The intellect is stunned by the shock
and but gropingly gathers the meaning of the words.
The power to realize their full import is mercifully lacking."
- Mark Twain.
All the talking plastic faces from your fancy television screens seem to want to have their say on September 11th today.
I ... I almost could not bring myself to speak on it. Not on this day.
The dark winds of the Shadowlands are filled with the wailing of the lost souls remembering the horror, panic, and fear of their dying.
The shadows will soon be quiet.
I look about the land of the living and know most will have shrugged off the remembrance aside by tomorrow ... if it has even occurred to them today.
Old news. Bills to pay. Lives to live.
There is too much tragedy each heartbeat of each day for us to hold onto any one moment of keening for long ... especially if it is not our own pain.
No pain is so easy to bear as the other fellow's.
Yet the world is drowning in tragedy.
The rain forests are still burning, and our attention span has turned off the smoke detectors.
An African child's emancipated face wails on our TV screen, and we change the channel.
The Twin Towers were gutted by planes filled with screaming passengers.
And into today's camera lenses, faces are screwed and fists are shaken in hate,
as America is berated for its bigotry by those whose faith was shared by those terrorists.
We have learned nothing.
Each day we pass individuals who are struggling with their own private 9-11,
and we hurry by, perhaps irritated by their slow pace or distant, inward directed eyes.
We honor the valiant, the orphaned, and the murdered of 9-11 when we remember that tragedy has a very long shelf-life
and act with compassion towards each person we meet, knowing that everyone is having a harder time than they appear.
***
That last line is so very true. We don't know the struggles our fellow man is facing.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching a young man who comments of TV whose humor makes me smile and feel good about life. He teared up over an episode of THE FLASH, and explained his mother was battling brain cancer -- and the ordeal of the past year was getting to him.
DeleteNo, we don't know what burdens others carry at all.
Hi Roland ... life is repeated by the media, and then by other tragic events - as you say we never learn ... nor seem to - I'd hoped by now the world would be easier with itself ... and more would have been accomplished. We need leaders, but we need more people actually doing things to help others ... as Alex notes - we don't know what is happening to others ... we need to engage more ... and learn to read between the lines of life.
ReplyDeleteMany will still need our support 15 years on ... Hilary
Mark Twain wrote that history didn't repeat itself, but it did rhyme. I have been advocating patience and understanding for an ill publisher of an anthology, but I have found that often folks are only understanding of their own situations. :-(
DeleteWhen I was young,I thought the world would have learned so much from those big wars, and that it would be a much better place by the time I became old. It is true, we don't know what others are going through, we need to look around and see where we can help. And our leaders need our help too. I have always helped my family and the animals in my care, but regret that I never reached out more, stretched myself, looked around more, tried harder.
ReplyDeleteSometimes all we can do is care for the little square of world where we live -- but if everyone did that, our world would be a kinder, gentler place. You do a lot, Inger. I am proud to know you.
DeleteIt is unfortunate that there are so many tragedies in the world that each one is soon lost in the memories. Aftermath is all that is left; the voices change. Yes, life does eventually go on.
ReplyDeleteLife rolls on as the world keeps on spinning. I remember waking too many mornings after too many deaths of loved ones, thinking the the coming dawn would be the first my loved one would not see, and it made that dawn poignant in ways I cannot put into words.
DeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Means a lot coming from you.
DeleteI have to admit that I roll up into a ball on 9/11 and stay tucked that way until it passes. I'm not hiding from the reality of all that this day means for our nation, but I'm still absorbing the implications, even after 15 years. This tsunami is a gathering force, and I don't see it subsiding in my lifetime. We're passing on a terrible legacy to our children, but nothing's new. We inherited the effects of the Crusades, Slavery, and much more from previous generations. I just wish we could have been the generation to pass on Peace and Compassion.
ReplyDeleteSomething, sadly, is new -- the advanced technology wherein those who hate can do more damage than ever before with fewer zealots. :-( Peace and Compassion are increasingly endangered species these days.
Delete