The Silent Skies Of September- The Days After 9-11-01 Poem by Terry Dunham

I listen as I stare,
with a pain in my soul,
and I pray to the God
who made these stars tonight.
I need to be out here on this chair;
away from the images,
away from the screams and tears
and horror
on faces that only
hours before
were happy and peaceful.
My familiar spot of solace.
My stars, my night,
my twinkling lights.
But there is a silence out here
that I can't run away from.
A new silence I never noticed before,
until the actions of a few
brought about this smoky, falling,
awful, crashing devastation.
And in this new quiet tonight
all I hear are noises from
earthbound things;
the cars, the insects, the occassional
siren or booming system in a young man's car.
Where are my flying friends?
Where are the cool lights of planes
that glide through the always present
myriad spots of heaven's lights?
There are no friendly drones
of airlines carrying families
to places known.
No business traveler, weary from a day of work.
No! ............................. Listen! ............................I hear nothing..................
These tears are for me to remember
the silent skies of September.