NOT JUST
poems and essays on September 11, 2001
Life In These United States
Kathleen Patricia Egan
[egankathy@hotmail.com]
We can't put down
The latest Tom Clancy read
With a satisfied sigh
Because this isn't one of his books
We can't rewind the VCR tape
So that the towers and the Pentagon
Can reassemble themselves
Because this isn't a movie
We can't hear the director yell, Cut!
After the stunt people
Jump out of the windows
Because there is no director
And the actors are not acting
We can't read newspaper accounts
Of terrorism in other countries
And reflect that such widespread destruction
Won't happen here again (Timothy McVeigh was a wild card)
because it just did
originally posted at the WriteGallery on January 20, 2002
Poem © 2001 Kathleen Patricia Egan, all rights reserved
appears here by permission
Also appears at poetryforthought@yahoogroups.com (poetry web ring)
