The Rain
It rained in New York, today.
Though the sky was blue,
And the sun was high.
It rained in New York, today.
It rained in New York, today.
The kind of rain I’ve not seen,
The kind of rain not meant to be.
It rained in New York, anyway.
It rained in New York, today.
Though it was ugly and mean,
I could not turn away from looking
up.
It rained in New York, how strange.
The clouds were
churning in just one spot,
And the gray
giants were weeping.
Then the clouds
fell down,
And the rain
wouldn’t stop,
The red rain with
flames and leaping.
White dust,
gray dust, metal steeping
High upon
itself bits of flesh falling around me,
Sky darkening, cries
coming from all directions
Turning my
agony to horror, and my flight into
Paralyzed fear
and panic, no more rain,
No more rain, I
cried for it to stop.
This isn’t real,
this isn’t me running for my life
Trying to comprehend
this terrible,
Awful,
Rain.
All is dust
covered now.
The rain has
left a mark.
The memory is
clinging.
Sobering and
stark.
It rained in
New York, today.
From my book Looking
In from Outside: Poetry & Prose, titled “The Rain.”
©Copyright
applied (2001). All Rights Reserved.
To view this poem on the 9/11 Online Memorial Website, click here.
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Photo courtesy of Willem-Jan Huisman
denj6724@gmail.com. loved "It Rained". Started out ok then got dark but lightened at the end. Very intriguing. I enjoy your work, inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThank you for liking this poem. Very sad day and I'm glad you found it meaningful.
Deletedenj6724@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteAfter thinking about this"The Rain" I can visualize how it must have felt and looked like to have been there, realization, brought to life. So sad
Thank you for your comment and I'm glad you found meaning in the words. I wrote this on 9/11 and the emotional weight of that event was something I could not hold inside. I had to put it into words. Not the most uplifting poem, but meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThis poem really touched my heart! I found a sense of longing, a need to burst into tears yet peace was
ReplyDeletequite necessary to calm my soul inside. It has a very needful touch.
Oh my goodness, thank you. I'm glad you liked it and found meaning in the words.
ReplyDelete