Gaping Hole ( A 9/11 Tribute by Rene Reyes)

Our world is still so afflicted,
thinking the answer comes in the form
of new and proud casualties;
how much more praying should
be done on the knees;
before we all stand on our feet
and make those changes.
Every which way, there is a maim here,
the memories of those who lives
will never be the same and
the lives of those that made it
when the dope scene is still reigning,
the eyes of the evil seeds that embed in our souls
slowly but surely making us damnation's sucklings;
our brothers and sisters are on the front line
and no justice is all that remains here;
I cannot read a magazine, without feeling
like I'm unexplainably lucky;
why was I spared in a tragedy
with all the flying around I must do?
Who decided which flight would be hijacked and
why wasnt I aboard that flight, too?

How sad I've been for these people
some I never knew, but feel like I knew them all;
all those babies whose littles lives were altered
because of political warfare of earthly Gods!

How unhappy my spirit is on most days,
when I think of all my good friends
who still live there, just praying they are safe;
Manic depression of my soul sometimes kicks in,
but maintaining is how I maintain.

So many victims still walking
empty dead vessels, whose only hopes
are now gone;
the greedy who have made money
when they never cared before
but there timing is on.

And the one thing that doesnt surprise me
is that the local church still manages
a parking lot;
which is only half filled,
jobs are folding and the healthy are getting ill;
the air that we are breathing, seems to be tainted
for a pressure-cooking kill,
our bodies are slowly crumbling
because our food is compromised
but we eat to still live.

Every visit to the doctor
reveals unknonw tumors that may never heal;
the only thing that seems to add up
is that doctor's unpaid bill;
Then I crawl down the highway
with pricked heels
and I ask strangers
"Did you say a prayer today?"

And they just look at me
and there eyes begin to fill,
we hug and hold tightly
because the truth is what we feel...

That gaping hole is still there
and it is killing us,
in more ways than most will ever know