279 - One Year Later: September 11, 2002

Media preparations for the first anniversary, the first yartzeit, of the attacks of last September 11 disturb me. Like gawkers who come across a traffic accident, we are being told to stare and stare at images already seared in memory a year ago. Our pain may be real, but it will lessen when we stop looking and begin to focus instead on the task of mending the world.

Two Hundred Seventy-Nine

One Year Later: September 11, 2002

Merciful One, help us to remember,
Do not erase the faces of the lost;
Hold them before our hearts’ eyes,
Keep their essence vital in our lives.

In a day our world vanished;
Merciful One, restore the sweetness of hope,
The everydayness of family, of play, of work
Forever changed but still attainable.

One year is not enough to heal,
Yet wounds begin to scar with strength;
Our hands cover still fresh alterations:
Soften the tender, mottled places.

One year is not enough to heal,
Fear and hatred still confound us;
Ease our confusion, answer our questioning,
Help us to seek justice, not blind vengeance.

From the chaos of destruction we sort clarity,
Merciful One, You hallow the ground of loss;
Not just symbol but testament to our pursuit of peace,
It is the only tribute worthy of their memory.