<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><div><b>"Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven"</b> by Paul Spreadbury</div><div><br></div><div>Two thousand one, nine eleven</div><div>Five thousand plus arrive in heaven</div><div>As they pass through the gate,</div><div>Thousands more appear in wait</div><div>A tall bearded man,</div><div>wearing a stovepipe hat</div><div>steps forward and greets them,</div><div>Then says, "Lets chat".</div><div>They settle down in seats of clouds</div><div>A man named Martin shouts out proud</div><div>"I have a dream!" and once he did</div><div>The Newcomer says, "Your dream still lives."</div><div>Groups of soldiers in blue and gray</div><div>Others in khaki, and green then say</div><div>"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"</div><div>The Newcomer says, "You died not in vain."</div><div>From a man on sticks one could hear</div><div>"The only thing we have to fear.</div><div>The Newcomer says, "We know the rest,</div><div>trust us sir, we've passed that test."</div><div>A man with a twang from New England shores</div><div>Then proclaimed in a voice they had all heard before</div><div>"Courage like yours does not hide in caves</div><div>You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"</div><div>A silence fell within the mist</div><div>Somehow the Newcomer knew that this</div><div>Meant time had come for her to say</div><div>What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day</div><div>"In the land of the living, we wrote reports,</div><div>Watched our children play in sports</div><div>Worked our gardens, sang our songs</div><div>Went to church and clipped coupons</div><div>We smiled, we laughed,</div><div>we cried, we fought</div><div>Unlike you, great we're not"</div><div>The tall man in the stovepipe hat</div><div>Stood and said, "don't talk like that!</div><div>Look at your country, look and see</div><div>You died for freedom, just like me"</div><div>Then, before them all appeared a scene</div><div>Of ruined streets and twisted beams</div><div>Death, destruction, rubble and dust</div><div>And people working just 'cause they must</div><div>Hauling ash,</div><div>lifting stones,</div><div>Knee deep in hell</div><div>But not alone</div><div>"Look! Blackman, whiteman, brownman, and yellow</div><div>Side by side helping their fellow!"</div><div>So said Martin, as he watched the scene</div><div>"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."</div><div>Down below three firemen raised</div><div>The colors high into ashen haze</div><div>The soldiers above had seen it before</div><div>On Iwo Jima back in '44</div><div>The man on sticks studied everything closely</div><div>Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly</div><div>"I see pain, I see tears,</div><div>I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."</div><div>"You left behind husbands and wives</div><div>Daughters and sons and so many lives</div><div>are suffering now because of this wrong</div><div>But look very closely. You're not really gone.</div><div>All of those people, even those you've never met</div><div>All of their lives, they'll never forget</div><div>Don't you see what has happened?</div><div>Don't you see what you've done?</div><div>You've brought them together, together as one.</div><div>The man named Abe stood and said</div><div>"Welcome my friends," and from there he led,</div><div>five thousand Newcomers, all heroes to heaven</div><div>On this day of our Lord, two thousand one nine eleven.</div></div><div><br></div>———————————————<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares"</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>