I'm listening to the stories of the survivors,
right now,
only hours before that fateful day
when our country stopped
and dropped to their knees in disbelief at the carnage,
one year ago

and I can't stop crying.

Do you remember where you were
when those 4 US planes full of innocent lives crashed
and took a multitude more innocent with them?
I was at school,
working on my project for typography.
Sombody burst in the classroom saying that the towers
were bombed.
I watched it happen over the internet
but

I didn't cry.

I stayed glued to the computer
until I was told to leave.
The school closed for the rest of the day.
I put on my headphones and waited for the bus.
Hords of people running by.
I sat on the sidewalk and attentively listened
to the radio describe the horrors of ground zero.
The voices of the reporters kept cracking
as they choked on their anguish at the sight.

I still didn't cry.

I finally got to the mall
and decided to walk the rest of the way home.
Not one car was on the road.
I distinctly remember how beautiful the day was.
How blue the sky seemed,
how cool the breeze was on my back,
just like today.
That night we never turned off the tv.
And as I look back now,

I don't think I cried once.

Now I listen to their stories on the radio
and I can see the person behind them.
Their lives,
so personal.
Not just the heros.
Not just the victims.
But the average person who witnessed
what most of us coulden't imagin in our
worst nightmares.
And today,

I can't stop crying