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September Morn

September Morn
by Robert Shirley

The towers stood in the morning light
Symbols of America’s wealth and might
Tall and straight and proud they rose
Stronger than any of freedom’s foes

But hate was on the wing that morn
And life is cheap to those who scorn
The ideals Americans hold so dear
These men would have us live in fear

First one aircraft, and then another
The towers swallowed them each with a shudder
Unbelieving, we watched in pain
As each gleaming tower erupted in flames

Columns of thick, black smoke roiled high
Corrupting what had been a perfect, blue sky
In horror, the world watched agape
As people plunged earthward, the only escape

On the streets far below, help soon arrived
Policemen and firemen gave their own lives
To save as many as could be saved
Each of those heroes so selfless and brave

Then one of the towers, consumed by a cloud
Stood there no more that had once stood so proud
The other soon followed in hellish descent
And the pride of a nation lay shattered and spent

Yet just for a moment, for out of that grave
A symbol would fly and defiantly wave
At the end of a pipe our flag was unfurled
And the strength of our freedom we showed to the world

To friend and to foe let it now be repeated
We have been bloodied but not defeated
A new truth was born of that conflagration
You can bring down a building, but not a great nation

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