Ground Zero
I emerge from under Ground zero A perfect day in December An Arab Sells water To thirsty tourists Hawkers always find a shrine To eke out their own Survival I stab unconvincingly At prayers that don’t Seem to fit the pilgrimage To which I am drawn The De Profundis Comes close to the truth Out of the depths I cry Cry being the more Authentic and muted now In contrast to the tumult Tumbling in this place On that day As on the day Of President Kennedy’s Assassination We know exactly Where we were When news broke And we circle now in silence Watching for whatever Listening to the clang Of steel A constant Angelus Promise Of what will be The cemetery building site Struggles slowly upwards While the pain of thousands Pulls and holds it back The dead have slept And go on sleeping Survivors scream In nightmares not deserved An interrupted life And all the while The traffic drives And joggers run But all of life is marked And always turns its head In this direction