RED, WHITE, BLUE AND BRUISED — By Jane Ashen Turkewitz
Nine years ago the unthinkable happened. Our nation’s collective heart was broken. A few months after the towers collapsed, I found a picture of John Cruz in the NYT, along with a brief profile. He was among the innocents who died. He was my first puppy love. My first date. He should be here, with his own kids, watching them do their “firsts.” I wrote this in his memory…
Brothers and sisters cloaked in Red death.
Towering sentinels smoldering in White ash.
A Blue spirit frozen in time.
A Trojan Horse upon our soil.
Insidious and indiscriminate,
Impregnating our soul.
Stars and stripes comfort, but don’t assure
Salty tears of despair, fear and ire.
A nation in mourning
Seeking justice and then peace.
A fierce determination
Born from destruction and death.
United we stand
Bruised and berated.
United we stand
Red, White and Blue.