A Day to Never Forget
Mary Ellen Agar     

     I wasn't there when dawn approached

     and yet I know my heart was touched

     Without warning our lives were changed

     By those who hijacked our own planes

     A tragic day we'll not forget

     A day of sorrow or regret

     For no last chance to say "I love you"

     For some of us our time came due

     To all the people who helped and died

     We raise our anthem to them with pride

     To us they'll always be our heroes

     For unselfish acts and unending hours

     We also raise an anthem high

     For people in all walks of life

     Who came to help from near and far

     We give you thanks from our heart

     For all the time, work and effort

     I know the families won't forget it

     For all whose graves are at the site

     We know your spirits all took flight

     God Bless America... September 11, 2001 

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april goodwill

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Poppy Bloom

There is no other flower bloom

that by its self represents such gloom

As that memorial flower Poppy red

stained by Knights now long dead

that delivered their last drop of life filled Zest

and sprinkled red the white Poppy blessed.

Time has shown the pale grim faces

of fallen comrades in bloody places

and marching in memorial to the gone

express in tears War's great wrong.

Each generation fears their fate

in fields where poppies congregate

for there amongst the fragrant scented flow

Lays the sleep Eternal Knights all know.

weighted down

in the little book of

wow-ka-ching

is a barely understandable parable

reads something like this-

'be not weighted down with money

give it all to me

and be free

and your soul will see

the rightness of this virtue

and your soul will see

it is not too heavy

to transcend the earthly chains and

raise itself without much pain

unto heaven'

and the author never once addresses

what he does

with the money

scrabby tones

"altered enlightenment"

   war monging chiefs of the west seek war with the impoverished people of the eastern kingdoms

    with paper banners of spyfootage as their new flag flying grand in the hands of your child

    we attack with an olive branch in our right hand and a sword in our left

wielding the sword at persia and holding  away from our breast the yellow peace of american cowardness

   our enemies in the orient want our resources and will stop at nothing short of world annihilation to achieve this

   but the home of the brave says its all good well attack babylon and use the profit to pay the ransom of you and me and the guy down the street

   so in that respect lets hope they succeed

Bill Clinton promised many things,

And one of them is scary.

He said that he would let the gays,

Be in the military.

If you are in the army,

One thing you better hope,

That when you take a shower,

You never drop the soap.

Jim Gatten

February 1, a beautiful day

"Good weather to land", Ron Dittemore did say

Anxious was he to welcome them home

For more than two weeks in space they had roamed.

Sixteen more minutes

Before they could land

Unexplained problems

Few could understand.

Temperature sensors had failed on the wing

Left many baffled, it just didn’t ring

Tire pressure loss up on the gear

Much overheating, so much unclear.

People in Texas heard a great boom

So loud as if it were in the next room.

Debris started falling from out of the sky

And suddenly everyone asked themselves why?

David, Kalpana, William

Rick, Laurel, Ilan and Mike

Despite different backgrounds

In essence alike.

For they were all astronauts

Heroes to us

Remember their service

And their story, discuss.

The loss of the seven, quite shocking to all

Yet others will step in to answer their call

Space shuttle travel will once again soar

For the lure of what's out there we cannot ignore.

Amy Gumley 

Colombia and Her Crew
Whippoorwill 2003©

We watched God’s souls as they took flight, Away from Earth, out of sight.

Their mission known right from the start,

Our hero’s brave, gave from their hearts.

Far away from their homeland, Each soul had said, "I understand"

With gentle hands, they made wrong to right, Hubbell saved, future bright.

Contented with their jobs well done, They headed back where they came from.

So close to earth, reaching atmosphere, They saw the Earth was very near.

As time and space continued on, The moment came, all souls were gone.

What fell to Earth, they knew full well,

Colombia and her crew to earth all fell.

Where are they now, no, they are not dead,

Their spirits light the universe instead.

We will remember, and say that we knew,

Earth’s space ship Colombia and her brave crew.

THE GAINING GROUND

Matthew W Grafton

The world waits

A yawning man

Tips his hat to the new sound

The gaining ground.

Opportunity for the greater capacities

The lessers turn away

Waste away

I should say

And cry when they here the old sound

Of the gaining ground

Churning, grinding, spewing its refuse

Into our heads

For eternities to come.

DEBT INCURRED

by Bill Albright

Bodies and spirits occupy stone marked plots

The reality which doubts the certainty

Of crafted false wisdom

Harvested from a forest of lies.

This cycle confuses in the coming and going,

Circles of what began when and by whom.

No one seems to have gotten this matter straight,

But when the destruction falls neither I nor they will be there.

Will anyone cheer the victors of whom there will be none

Or mourn the victims of whom there will be many?

Both cheering and mourning will be obsolete

For the deed is today's, grief is the lien of tomorrow.

world is on the edge

will his hands catch it-i hope

but only he knows

        Why the looming war?

When would the globe get rid of war?

Gulf wars were once fought!

Even civil wars within nations were still fought!

Minatory gulf wars on global peace again!

Oh, what a tottering global peace!

War of wars tearing the 'conspicuous peace'

Of the globe!

Why the looming war I say?

Can war still bring global peace?

Can global peace be gained through war?

Hitherto, peace has not been gained through war!

Where is the 'entente' between these countries of peace?

Grudges of the two 'elephant giants'

Are revaving the world peace

As ravaving as…

War, not a last resort to peace I say!

They struck peace…

They muse war in their…

What an embattlement of peace!

The dread of mass nuclear weapons of

Mass destructions is terrorizing world peace

Leaping war is tolling, tolling and tolling…

Causing disunity of world concord!

Intrigue is torpedoing world peace!

Is the built-world peace disappearing?

Decordant views has plunged the world peace into threat

Oh!the big powers' might!

No to war, yes to peace!

No to  wars of violence I say!

Another gulf war might not help…

Be true democrats!

Why the looming war I say?

The renowned amity of the 'contentious countries'

Is disappearing…

Eerie dreads are stalking the third world countries…

'Big powers' have not proved to be true democrats!

The superiority  and the inferiority at daggers drawn!

Whatever 'sally' by the big powers might sent strong waves

 To international peace

The odds of this minatory war

Are likely…

Who knows!

He who fights to wear the 'diplomatic diadem'

Is not the superior-nation-of-the-nations!

The world must learn to bridge peace

Stop dividing the world with war

Let's declare truce!

A Soldier Reports To God

The soldier stood and face his God, which must always come to pass,

He hoped his shoes were shining just as bright as his brass,

Step forward now you soldier, how should I deal with you,

Have you always turned the other cheek, to my church have you been true,

The soldier squared his shoulders and said, no Lord I guess I aint,

You see those of us that carry guns, can't always be a saint,

But I never took a penny that wasn't mine to keep,

Though I worked alot of over time when the bills got too steep,

I never passed a cry for help, though at times I shook with fear,

And Lord forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears,

I know I don't deserve a place among the people here,

They never wanted me around except to clam their fears,

Lord if you have a place for me here, it needn't be so grand,

I never had or expected much, but if you don't I understand,

Step forward now you soldier, you've borne your burdens well,

Walk peacefully on heaven's streets, you've done your time in hell.

                                              Forever Faithful

                                               The Phantom

                                            Matthew G. Brooks

LOOKING AT THE VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL

By: Justin Wells

When I looked, I saw not just names, but names of those who died for a cause. Some said they

blindly died for imperialism and that the Domino Theory was a crock, while some understood why

they gave their lives. Be hippie or patriot, left-winger or right-winger, we must respect those

names upon the wall, for they paid the ultimate sacrifice when others fled to Canada or college. In

conclusion I hope that these names never become just another brick in the wall.

TOMORROW NEVER COMES.....
 George Press

WE KNOW WHAT WE WERE

AND WHAT WE ARE NOW

BUT WHAT WILL WE BE... TOMORROW?

  WE KNOW WHAT WE'VE DONE

  AND WHAT WE ARE DOING

  BUT WHAT WILL WE DO... TOMORROW?

WE KNOW WHAT THE PAST WAS

AND WHAT IS THE PRESENT

BUT WHAT WILL THE FUTURE SHOW... TOMORROW?

  WE KNOW WHAT IS LEARNING

  AND WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

  BUT WHAT WILL WE ACHIEVE... TOMORROW?

WE KNOW WHAT IS TOILING

AND WHAT LABOURING IS

BUT WHAT JOB WILL WE HAVE... TOMORROW?

  WE KNOW WHAT IS LIVING

  AND WHATEVER WILL BE

  TODAY WILL BE YESTERDAY... TOMORROW

~*~

By Lajan Joseph.
    Brian Robert Walker
   

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A Hero Stands Alone

A Hero stands alone,

Looking down the plains,

On ‘is head shines a crown,

His face scarred with pains.

A Hero alone does stand,

With an eagle on his hand,

A bird, proud and smart,

Will fly trough his heart.

A Hero stands alone,

In his hand shines a sword,

And never shall be known,

What then to world he told.

In other hand, he holds a stick,

With strange and silent runes,

However, silence is but a trick,

For in it strange power looms.

In his crown a jewel bright shines,

Remembrance of merry times,

Alas, they passed some time ago,

They passed down the river flow.

Down the river a galleon sales,

A wind god howls from shore,

It may speak many odd tales,

Of the lands and people of yore.

A Hero watches the ship,

Bewildered with many a thought,

For he must take a dangerous trip,

Many battles will be fought

Why does a Hero stand alone,

While the world goes to rust?

He should reclaim his throne,

But with wisdom rule he must.

‘Cause evil will fight for throne,

And torches of war will grimly shine,

They will fight with iron and stone,

Almost to the end of time.

Then the hero shall not stand alone,

He will claim his rightful throne.

A New Earth

Sitting here all alone,

I think of what awaits in the future.

And I see a vision of a peaceful earth.

A vision of a peaceful earth,

A fresh beginning, a rebirth.

Of Mother Nature with no pollution,

But it seems that man has yet to find a solution.

To stop harming and spoiling,

The land that farmers were hard at toiling

The land that was once taken over by life,

Is now being cut with a knife?

A new earth we can't have,

But what we have we can rave.

We can turn it into a peaceful earth,

We can turn it into mirth.

 

Inside our minds are planted beliefs

Raging our questions for our hearts relief

Confusing the words on the broken lines

Thinking our thoughts with dysfunctional minds

Written writing that our eyes take in

The more we read the more we cave in

Feel the rush that the world does feed

The rules of the country don't fit our need

Losing the freedom that we once did have

Changing the molded, the governments gone mad

Take all of you thoughts and sort them out

Your life is your own and not what's brought about

Jessica Kendall  

2025

by MK

Took a ride tonight

Out past the old railroad tracks

Out by the airport

I can recall

Summer nights when I was a kid

Watching the planes come in

Shaking my world, shaking me

Now though......

My own kids are quiet, in awe

Of the twisted buildings, the destruction

They don't believe me when I tell them

That once upon a time

There were planes that flew through the sky

They laugh at me,  roll their eyes

When I tell them how it used to be

They don't believe in planes, or birds, or flowers

They only believe in what they can see

"Mum, you're so silly," my little girl giggles

I stare out at the empty, empty sky

 "You're right, honey,  I am...."

~*~

IAM
 

~*~

i walk down the street inhaling deep the cool crisp air fills my lungs only the sounds of my feet stepping on the snow covered street i feel at peace for the first time in weeks and as I approach the large building i feel the panic the frustration and the pain come flowing back i wish that i could walk down that street until my days meet the end of time but i know it is not possible because i find my self opening the doors that unleash all the feelings that a fear to feel and all i am left with is the hope of tomorrow’s walk and serenity

IN THE END

Bill Goulden

Experiment over, they switched off the stars

Swept away Jupiter, Pluto and Mars

Shooting stars, asteroids, moons of the night

Cosmic dust, comets and holes black and white

They crumpled the galaxies, threw them away

Dark was the void come the end of the day

All matter, each mote, every speck, milligram

Was carefully returned back to where it began

They polished the universe, dusted down time

Disinfected infinity, sluiced out the grime

They closed down the venture, called wistfully Genesis

Stamped the file failed - and sighed softly nemesis