Swing

Orchiolum, Yahoo! Contributor Network
May 2, 2011 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

I am reminded of the morning I was awakened by a call from my mother, "Larry, you'd better turn on the television, we've been attacked." What I saw was difficult to fathom: Twin Towers ablaze, people jumping from windows, smoke rising from the Pentagon, and word that United Airlines Flight 93 had disappeared into a Pennsylvania field.

We attempted to contact my sister who was working in D.C. The lines were jammed with frantic calls, but after an hour I got through. She was safe, and could see the smoke at the Pentagon from her office window. I told her that I loved her.

The next day I drove to my mother's house, my childhood home, and sat with her in the swing on the porch. The sky was blue and silent except for the occasional songbird and military jet passing overhead. Mom turned to me and said, "I wish things could be the way they were." Sadness and longing permeated her voice, and I knew exactly what she meant and how she felt. On that day, her world seemed less safe, less sure, more savage, and forever changed. I never forgave Osama bin Laden for bringing that fear and shadow to my mother's eyes.

My mother passed away in 2006. This morning, I did not dance, I did not cheer, I did not celebrate. I simply whispered, "he's gone mom."

Published by Orchiolum

Progressive, tree hugging, Earth loving, free thinking poet. When I see the Royals I am reminded of a world in need. View profile

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