Couple falling from north tower 09/11 I found this post very interesting.
The two poems that affected me the most were, Photograph from September 11 and Compendium of Lost Objects. I was very deeply touched by both incidents. I remember vividly what I was doing the morning of September 11th and the events of the days and months after. I was watching the news as the second plane hit the second tower. I remember Katie Curic saying that if this turns out to be a terrorist attack this would be really terrible (this was before the second plane hit and it was thought that it may be just an accident) I yelled at her "this is already terrible'. Then the second plane hit and all thoughts of it being an accident were gone. I watched them on tv as "They jumped from the burning floors" (Szymborska line 1). I watched with disbelief as they were "still within the air's reach" (line14) wishing there was a soft landing, some magical airbag that would appear and save them. Remembering 9/11 is not just remembering the Twin Towers but stopping to remember all the people that died and the ripple affect that touched so many others.
Compendium of Lost Objects tells the events of another major tragedy for our nation. This one caused by mother nature but more importantly showed our lack of response to those in need, the disorganization and politics that kept people from being helped and the absolute greed and corruption that set the stage for the disaster to come. The reality was again in our living rooms for weeks, months "the cot at the Superdome sunk in a dumpster" (Cooley line14), the news planes and helicopters flying over flooded neighborhoods showing people still on rooftops with 'help us' painted on their roofs. "a Blue Roof and a house marked 0" (line19) were other familiar images.
In both instances there was the horror and the frustration of seeing events unfold yet not being able to do anything but pray, maybe send a little money. Very dark times in our country and hopefully we have learned from our past.
Cooley, Nicole. “Compendium of Lost Objects.” POETS.org. Academy of American Poets, 2011. Web. 21 June 2011.
Szymborska, Wislawa. “Photograph of September 11.” Poetryfoundation.org. Poetry Foundation, 2011. Web. 13 June 2011.
