As You Fell Poem by Susan Williams
As You Fell
.
The spirit that dwells in our soul-
not the mean spirit,
or the poor spirit,
or the spiritless one,
but the warm spirit
you know the one
the one
that returns us to childhood and the touch of Mother's hand on our brow,
the one that returns us to the day we begged Daddy to let the squirmy rainbow trout off the hook and he did and together we watched it go free to swim wriggles and squiggles through the waters of the lake
the spirit that returns us to the day we met our first best friend forever in the 2nd grade and how we felt so self-conscious until he said the new glasses were cool
the spirit that returns us to the young and tender beginnings of love between a man and his woman
that spirit
that warm spirit that has never forgotten
will never forget
will never want to forget
that is the same warm spirit
that also returns us to the day
we felt such an intense love for mankind
as it plummeted from the tower one September day....
...
as you plummeted from the tower
floor
by
floor
by
floor
and we remember you today
and every yesterday since
exactly as we saw you then
as you plummeted
down through the sky
down through the ashes
down through the drifts of paper
down through the last moments of your life
we did not know you
blameless victim of strangers' hate
but we wrapped you up in the warmth of our love for you
and we held you deep inside the longing of that luminous spirit within us
it was all we could do
but we did it with all our might
we sent our thoughts to you and if ever that can be done
it was done that morning
we wanted you oh how we wanted you to feel the warmth of our souls' love for you
as you plummeted so far but not far enough
as you plummeted for so long but not long enough
you were running out of sky
falling man
alone in the sky
alone in that hopeless fall
we would not turn away
we had to stay
we had to stand guard
over your last journey
over the last moments of your life
we could not bear
you to fall alone
alone in fear
between one story and one moment and the next story and the next moment
going by too fast
going by too slow
thinking in agony of all the lost days you will never have
all the lost days you will never wake up slow and sweet with your beloved
the lost one where you walk along the shore enjoying the waves lapping at your feet
the one where you watch a child fly his kite and you smile in remembrance
the one where the sunset sets fire to the mountain peaks
the one where you hold your friend while he grieves
so we could not turn away
we would not turn away
we had to watch you fall
we had to stay and hold you
and be with you every horror of the way
oh how we wanted you to know that you were loved
loved far more than the hatred of little men
loved you with the intensity of a sister
loved you with the yearning burning of an orphaned child
loved you with the hallowed pain of a Mother
loved you
dear falling man
and oh how we longed for your heart to be at ease
to be feeling your Mother's hand on your brow
to be feeling the freedom of the day the rainbow was set free
to be feeling the kind smile of your very first best friend
to be feeling the love of your woman
and to be feeling all the love from the people below
reaching out reaching up to hold you as you fall
.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~©2017 Susan Williams
This is a wonderful poem. I have a warm memory of that awful day. There was an interview with a New York fireman, an ordinary regular guy. The subject of the programme was the song Danny Boy. He was talking about the firemen friends he had lost on that day and on how some of the Churches tried to ban the playing of that song at their funerals and about this opera singer who was helping out at the Firemen's base making and serving up soup for the lads. And how he suddenly took of his chef's hat and sang Danny Boy for them, returned and picked up his soup ladle and cried Well, who's next! I shall never forget the warmth that interview brought to me and the image and the feeling come back when I hear Danny Boy, which is one of my favourite songs. Your poem has added an extra warmth to remember. It's a great poem, Susan.
Thank you, Tom, for sharing that memory. It sure makes me wonder why some of the churches didn't want Danny Boy played... perhaps they thought it excluded nationalities... odd, Danny Boy is such a tender loving farewell that it seems to transcend nationalities. Sounds like I need to Google the topic. Anyway, I am proud of that opera singer for standing up for the right to grieve in whatever loving way we need- -especially the firemen who lost so many of their compatriots that day and since. And thank you for your appraisal of the poem, my friend..
Hi Susan, Wow! An intense flow of emotions! The return to childhood and family bonds on the one hand. The evolution from a little baby to a girl, a teen, a woman and a mother... A mother's hand over your brow.... Then to empathy with the victims of 9/11: blameless victim of strangers' hate and your (and that of the entire humanity) assurance that you were loved loved far more than the hatred of little men. Very emotional write. Quite eloquent- unlike our usual Susan, who delights in brevity. The words flow as do the emotions. What I liked most is the phrase, Little Men. How true: hate makes all small; baseless hate for strangers definitely makes you so little.... As the famous Malayalam poet Vyloppillil Sreedhara Menoin has written, these people turn themselves into Adhomugha Vamanar (little men who look only to within themselves) . Thank you Susie for sharing this exquisite piece. Loved reading. Have to come for a re.. So, added to MyFav poems. And a magnifiecent 100+++
Top stars for this poem inspired by MJ Lemon's Heart
Wonderful poem Susan! God must have stretched His hands to hold all the spirits that jumped off the tower.
Even in this dark tragedy, there is warmth in your words. The warmth of the spirits! . It is only the body that dies. The souls are immortal.
A poignant poem that chills and warms your heart at the same time. The twin tower episode of the horrendous 9/11 tragedy can never be forgotten.
Robert- -those images will never go away- they hurt as much now as they did then- -may the earth not see this kind of thing again
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/23/2024 6:37:52 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Wow Susan, this is a roller coaster of emotions, and I felt as if I were falling, how does one single any verse above the other in this poem? Death, mother, love as a sister, the rainbow trout that was pleaded for....this one is in my opinion is your best! ! ! ! Wow! !
Thank you, Bill. I did concentrate on the emotions in this... logic didn't seem to have a place in what happened that day. There were several threads in this poem- I do not know if I handled them as well as they should be- -but I tried. I am glad I double-wowed you.