Never Forget

 I wrote this poem 15 years ago.  I'll never forget.

9/11

Five years past,
In disbelief I watched,
Mouth agape,
As planes smashed
One after the other
Into the two towers,
Televised “live” on CNN.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
This can’t be real,
It can’t be happening,
It must be a trick,
A camera trick,
A scene taken from a movie.

Then they fell
Like a stack of cards,
One after the other
Within seconds,
In a rising cloud of dust
That spread throughout Manhattan.

Another plane
Smashed into the Pentagon,
Another one into a field in Pennsylvania
One after the other.
Was that it? Was that it? Are there more?
Please, no more, no more, please.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
It felt surreal,
My mind numbed
By the thought of all those lives
Snuffed by unimaginable evil.
Terror transmitted halfway across the globe
Through the wonders of technology.

It was real
And yet unreal.
We lost our innocence
That fateful day,
No more trust
In our fellow man.

We have to find our way again,
Someone help us find our way again

Disruption ~ Chaos ~ Insurrection

 Just when you think that this year couldn't be any worse than last, yesterday's attempted coup happens in the Capital of the USA.  Spurred on by an incompetent president, hordes of thugs broke into the Capitol building to try to disrupt the electoral process confirming the election of Biden/Harris.

A mostly white crowd bearing flags and banners in various forms proclaiming their support (& love?) for their dear revered leader, some wearing combat gear, obviously ready for battle, they stormed the building and interrupted the proceedings (which thankfully resumed later in the night).  What struck me while watching live footage of the scene was the lack of control by law enforcement and the lack of presence of the National Guard, very unlike the scene last summer during the Black Lives Matter march when peaceful protestors were tear gassed and pepper sprayed.  Talk about white privilege....

Will there be anyone held accountable for this especially the political leaders who have enabled idiot in the Oval Office, who have not called him out for his countless lies, nor corrected the fake news coming from his mouth and his Twitter feed?  I am not optimistic having seen how much he has been able to get away with.  

The past 4 years watching American politics unfold has left a bad taste in my mouth.  I am disillusioned with America's political system.  The American dream and the shining city on the hill is still an admirable one.  But the experiment to achieve this dream and ideals that was first created by the founders has failed.  It needs to be reworked and refined.  The great divide between conservatives and liberals, the coastal cities and the middle of the country, the urban and the rural societies have grown.  Fresh new ideas need to be hashed out to address these difference.  Mistrust in the government and media and big corporations need to be addressed.  Social media hasn't helped especially in the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation.  Journalism has lost its way.  

I don't know how these issues will be resolved.  It is a formidable undertaking.  But first the country needs to heal, after the painful 4 years of upheaval, much of it caused by a useless divisive, incompetent president.  I believe the President Biden and VP Harris will be able to start the healing process.  

Counting down to Jan 20..... 

Checking in, and checking out, 2020!

 Damn Covid.  What can one say about 2020 that hasn't already been said?  All I know is:

1) I miss being able to travel whenever/wherever I want to

2) I miss seeing my family and friends

3) I am thankful for our new home back in the USA

4) I am thankful that we have a home to hunker down in, unlike so many other who are suffering through this crisis

5) I am grateful that my family and friends and I remain healthy

6) I am supremely thankful that in a few weeks, a new administration will be taking over and I can stop feeling anxious and angry whenever I read the news or listen to a news clip about the shenanigans of the current president

Here's to a better year and hopefully the chance to see family and friends on the other side of the globe (or even this continent) again..... Happy New Year everyone!