I was on my way to Florida on business, wedged in one of the chairs built for people much smaller than average and reading a book. I don’t remember what it was at this point. Then the bottom fell out.
We began descending at a rapid rate and much too early to be arriving, kissing the runway we were asked to take everything and exit. Walking into the terminal, a surreal picture dominated the television…a plane slamming into a building—and then black—as if the power went out, the picture was gone.
Cell phones were pointless—fast busy, fast busy—but occasionally someone got through and word rippled around the clusters of people that riddled ever bit of floor—an endless game of telephone. We passed time taking luggage off the conveyor and building small walls of suitcases—they kept coming.
4…5…6 hours…and finally i got a rental car, drove to Columbus, GA, an hour away, and as I got off the exit saw tanks in the streets. It would be a week before I got home to my family, watching reports in a hotel room—going to the local office each day to hear stories as people stumbled in—lending more ears than money.
Hard to believe it’s been eleven years and we all have a story.
Before we start up the poetry, I want to take just a moment to remember—a moment of silence if you will for all the lives lost, all the heroes, not only that day but everyday around our world.
Welcome to OpenLinkNight everyone, my name is Brian Miller and I will be your host this evening and I hope that as we share our poetry today not only can we remember but celebrate the life we have been given—what a gift—treat it as such.
Everything changes in a moment.
If you are new here, let me tell you how this works:
- post a poem on your webpage or blog
- Click on the Mr. Linky button below and enter your name and url and click enter.
- This is also where you will find the list of those that have also joined in—read, comment, meet new people—let people know what you think of their verse.
- Feel free to share your link and a link to dverse using the social media of your choice.
- Enjoy your time
If you have any questions, let me know…i will be seeing you out on the trail. ~Brian
dVerse 
Brian–thank you for sharing your story. Gonna be an emotional night at the pub.
yep i think so…just blew in the door from work and playing some crazy catch up…reading the ones i could this morning i would say we surely are in for one for the tissues…
holding that silence.
ty
Well said, sir.
thanks mark…thanks too for stopping in while i was still at work…i cant get online there so will be by shortly…
Remembering. Honoring. Cherishing.
amen
Thank you, Brian…..eleven years since, and as emotional in a way as before. Thank you for your story.
I just returned from NJ….my Aunt Jean turned 100 and what a vital woman she is! At her birthday celebration I read “9/11″….a poem I wrote last year at this time. I’m posting it again because…well, it still fits.
To all here….this is a sad and memorable day, but being in this Poet Tribe is an affirmation of life continuing.
Blessings!
Lady Nyo (Jane)
will be over shortly to check it out….wow 100 that is awesome…she has seen a lot…..glad to def affirm that life continuing…
what’s awesome is this: she is fully functioning at 100…she uses a walker, but I also observed her lifting and shoving a rather heavy chair out of her way. LOL!
She is a vegetarian…or mostly….and she is highly political. She is frustrated by the people around her in the assisted living because they ‘aren’t intellectual’. LOL! Mostly they scowl and sleep in the sun. She has had two bouts of laxer surgery on her eyes to improve sight in the last 4 years…reading is the most important thing going for her. I hadn’t seen her in 23 years…since my father’s death….and she is so beautiful! But her mind is so active and her biting wit isn’t giving any quarter..
that is very cool…i def want to keep my spunk when i get there, you know…smiles….smiles on her being so beautiful too…that is awesome…
11 years ago…yet that infamous day is color etched in my brain forever.
yep. can still see it….and experience that day as clear as today….
You are right, life is such a gift…blessings to all tonight x
true that….have a lovely evening louise
I read Simon Armtiage’s ‘Convergence of the Twain’ to my Literature class today and their reaction was humbling. They talked of the pain that they could feel from the ones who lost loved ones. We on the other side of the pond pause to remember the loss on this harrowing day. Peace to all.
good on you for talking about it…we spent time in class today doing the same…def some interesting responses by the students…i was pleased…
Thanks for sharing your story Brian and for hosting. I know that I have a deep silence whenever i think about that moment when everything changed–one of several I’ve experienced since the JFK shooting–moments, actions, catastrophes of such magnitude they forever change the course of events, the dialogue, our own lives and the games that the power people play. I did not write about this tonight–I believe silence sometimes is all I have.
yep this was the first year i did not write about it at my place….it is a silent feeling i get on it today as well….
Hi, Brian. As I told somebody else today, even though I live 150 miles from NYC, I don’t know too many people who didn’t know someone lost, or someone who was there, or someone who knew someone… You know? I knew all three…
Thanks for being The Man (again) tonight. Oh, and somehow linked twice. Yeah, I’m a doof. 😉
ha we love our doofs though sir…i imagine so…hearing some of the stories today…by other teachers there are quite a few here as well that knew someone too…
Thanks for sharing your experience, Brian. I was working on the near northside of Chicago, and I’ll never forget the utter silence of the streets as I walked home, dismissed early for the day. Eerie to meet such silence in the city. And for weeks after that, I’d find myself staring at the skyline, scrutinizing every plane overhead. What a strange time it was… grateful to be here. Grateful that so many of us still get to be. Sorry that anyone–then, or anytime–has to be snatched out of this wonder called life unfairly and too soon.
emily
i hear you on the eerieness….i def felt some of that as well that day….and it is sad anyone whose life is cut short prematurely….
Thanks for sharing Brian. Indeed we all have a story and no matter how much time has gone by, one we will never forget.
My poem is a sad one as is this day, but I hope it brings comfort in knowing that even when faced with horrible tragedy, we can rise and be strong again.
Always remember!
we can rise and be strong…and that was one feeling immediately following that day that i felt…i wonder at it not being as strong now and what wore off…
Wow. Thanks for sharing your story. I remember that day so vividly. Crazy. Surreal. But we, in Europe, were far enough away for tanks in the street. Still there was an unreal feeling amongst us all.
Everyday, as I walk the dog, we pass by a little square here in Riga, Latvia. It’s named after George Washington, and on it there’s a little memorial statue to the victims of 9/11. I think it’s good that we remember the victims of senseless violence.
i think it is good as well…and that you have a memorial there as well is heartening to me…thanks man, for this and the message you left at my place…
I think this is a day, we who are old enough to remember, will never forget where we were and what we were doing, as with the assassination of JFK, it’s a day that lives on in history as well as memory.
Thanks for hosting Brian. Have a good night all.
yeah another for me is the challenger explosion…can still remember that day quite vividly…
Very true, all should be remembered for their efforts and those who passed today, each in their own way.
yep….thanks cat…..
I was a young Mom…home with baby, watching your country, our world, crumble that day. As I mentioned to Buddha…it is the one blemish on my rose colored glasses I cannot erase…the world changed…an so did we…here’s to making every day count
the world did change that day…we were talking about that today at school…the difference that event made in how we look at people…and the reality of it as well…there was tension growing up in the cold war, but it never really happened…this though did…
Hi Brian – well, I wasn’t going to post about this yesterday when still out of NYC, but of course, I live so close to the site, impossible to be back and not have it on my mind very definitely. I posted a few pictures from this morning – not such good ones, I’m afraid, and my poem – also a bit of – I can’t say memorabilia – papers collected from the roof of a nearby building by my daughter. k.
PS – Brian – great post – and also wonderful poem today. k.
thank you k….you do live close…interesting on the papers….be over in a bit…
Howdy gang! So good to be here with you again this week! I’ll be back to read some rockin good poetry in just a bit!
will be out there soon myself….wanted to say hi to a few people first…see you in a bit sir…
Thanks for sharing your story, bro. To my fellow Americans, let us always remember that, above all else, we are all Americans, and we are much stronger together than we are apart. To everyone, hope yours is a wonderful time of poeming. Best, Moskowitz
i think even beyond that…we are people…and better off together…stronger…i wish we could bring more people together you know….thanks mosk
Hello all. A timely and poignant reminder Brian. Emotions run high in us all at multpile different levels … my take is posted. Raise a glass in memory.
clink.
be over shortly man.
Thank you for sharing your story, Brian…you’re right there are so many. Just learned that a friend’s flight attendant daughter had been flying on that fateful morning…her parents horrified while waiting for news as to her safety…she was safe.
i am glad she was safe….i finally talked to my wife late that evening and did not get home for a week after..but what a relief to get there and to know…
Hello again, everyone! I look forward to reading your posts. I’ve written a piece about 9/11 as I am sure that a lot of you have. R.I.P. to the thousands lost both on that fateful day and since.
thank you….good to see you as well…i echo the rest in peace…
I was on the golf course…when I noticed that the brilliant blue sky had no planes in it…the decade that has passed has seen me grow sadder with the lost chance that our nation had to be an exemplary part of our world’s humanity in its response…no my poem doesn’t have much to do with that day…but it does…splay open my heart for all to see…thanks for being here and for providing this platform…brightest blessings…Edward
edward….it was a wonderful verse…love the way you bend words….thanks as well for sharing where you were that day…
Thanks for sharing your story, Brian. I remember waking up for work and watching the devastation on the news. It was surreal not seeing any planes in the sky the rest of the day, to say the least. I echo your words: Everything changes in a moment – life is indeed a gift.
it was surreal…due to no airtravel it was a week before i got home and just worked out of our columbus ga office…
An obvious choice for the day, thanks for sharing your own memories of that fateful day. Its a day we shall all remember, all for our own reasons.
My post this week is a tribute to all those who lost their lives, or loved ones in the attack upon the twin towers. Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/GBdjLk
I remember standing in the librarian’s office at my high school (in New Jersey), staring at the television, between classes. It didn’t really seem real at the time; a few of my classmates lost an uncle, or a cousin, or a friend. All the changes we’ve lived through as a result have always felt more real than the event itself.
But for all the tragedy, there are (in my mind) two honest and powerful memorials that really stand out, and neither one of them is the massive (though impressive) complex of pools and waterfalls and concrete at the actual site of the new towers. The first is on the corner of Greenwich and 7th Avenues, where two chain link fences are hung with hundreds (maybe thousands; I haven’t counted) of ceramic tiles, each one painted with something for a loved one. It sprung up on its own, without any kind of hoopla or drumbeat, from the hands of the people who were affected most. It has endured (through earthquakes and hurricanes, we can say now), despite being a relatively fragile reminder.
The second is the fact that I am typing this from my office desk, looking out the window high over Midtown, where it’s a beautiful day and people are out in droves, like they would be on any other beautiful day. The world goes on, and we do everything we can to make it a better place.
Everything can change in a moment. Let’s make all our moments count, and bring on change for the better. Nice of you to host tonight Brian.
“take just a moment to remember—a moment of silence if you will for all the lives lost, all the heroes, not only that day but everyday around our world….” –
amen, thank you brian
We were set to rentacar and drive the East coast to NYC and on to Nova Scotia the next day. Everyone called as the news got even more bleak — don’t go, everyone said. No no no. We went. Most memorable trip of my life. I saw America every day as the aftermath elapsed. After a two hour wait to go through the Holland tunnel, Manhattan rolled out the red carpet for us as if we were royalty. The lights had just gone back up on Broadway, tickets were $15 or less. The city was in shock but grateful for all visitors. It was the most affecting time for me. It bonded me to the city for life..sat in Sardi’s with bridge and tunnel people – all of whom had lost someone. Those stories are etched in my heart and consciousness for all time. We as a nation should remember that day, that month because we weren’t red or blue; we were red, white and blue and the nation celebrated us, our courage, our resilience, our determination. We need that again, now!
Standing with you here in a minute of silence…for all the victims
Thank you for hosting, Brian, and well said. I too, was at work. The news over the radio, impossible to believe. We came home to the images broadcast on all stations. How could this happen, how could it possibly be true? The tears came for people we never knew, yet they were our brothers, our sisters, our family. The news said the recovery workers needed dry socks, we ran over to Sears to donate packages, a tractor trailer parked there and waiting to transport to NYC. Our employer asked for volunteers for the Red Cross, and payed us to work there. For two weeks we counted and tracked donations, and heard countless stories of people remembered and lost. Today and every 9/11, I wear a shirt given to me by my brother-in-law who was good friends with a NYC policeman, to honor the memory of those lost. It reads “Gone but Not Forgotten 9-11-01” with the FDNY and NYPD shields embroidered. As you stated, may we always remember and honor those lost, and all the heroes today and every day around the world.
Hello all ,a lot of feelings and emotions running riot in my head so i might post two tonight as i have been writing a bit wild today
Its been a while but I’ve found my way back to the bar. Happy writing folks!
yay…glad you made it back…smiles.
How horrible to not be able to get back to family during that time, but a very exciting fast-paced story, Brian. I just got home from subbing severely autistic children. I was helping a boy who screams at the top of his lungs in a high-pitched shrill. He pinched me and then gave me a kiss…. such extremes. I need a little break, but will post soon.
smiles…having worked with autistic kids i can imagine the break you need…see you soon laurie….
I wrote about a completely unrelated subject today. It did not occur to me that it was Sept. 11 today until someone mentioned it — first time that’s happened since 9-11 itself. I’m not sure what that means, or if it’s OK.
i actually rewrote this last night…my original OLN intro will wait…i did not realize it fell on the same day either at first….
just sneaking in for a minute to say hello..on a business trip all week and too busy to post and read but will be around for poetics on saturday again….
great post as well brian… we’re having some americans here and been talking about 9/11 during dinner today as well…
smiles…good to see you friend…i hope you have a great trip and look forward to having you back this weekend….
Morning all, apologies for not commenting last week as we lost power for a few days after storms….
yikes…glad the power is back on man….not fun went through that with the derecho…
Being a native New Yorker, I know I was changed by that horrible event. It is a day to be grateful for what we have, because one never knows how quickly it can shift. Thanks for sharing your story, Brian.
Pamela
Much love and light to all and a beautiful opening xo
Popy is back! smiles.
Here’s a little haiku for you, Brian, something I submitted earlier to Haiku for Peace:
When peace and justice
walk together, my country
will join yours in dance
amen….love that haiku susan…it fits my hopes…
This is not a new one but based as it is on a true encounter, it stays with me … and I ache for the day anew.
http://nsaynne.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/like-pieces-of-confetti-souls-rained-down/
Likewise can recall where I was and knowing that death comes when the foe is your face of hate. My poem isn’t about 9/11 or at least not on the surface. Late here so off to bed and will catch up tomorrow.
sleep well john…see you in the AM>…
Well said Brian ~ anyone who was around 11 years ago can surely say where they were when they heard the appalling news ~ never forgotten
thanks polly….
Brian, thanks for hosting OLN today. Yeah, hard to believe it’s already been 11 years. I was in a busy warehouse, standing around running a job and just got done mentioning how oddly slow it was that morning, when a guy pulled in and asked why we were open…told us the tragedy and then no one could work anymore. Not feeling all too well, so gonna nap for a bit, perhaps have some soup then grab the ipad and read poetry from bed later on tonight
alright poets…i gotta take a break to eat…i will be back…will try to hit twitter too and promote…let me get some sustenance haha…and maybe wrestle the boys a bit and i will be back…
thanks for tending here, Brian. I am reposting an oldie just to be part of the day but am otherwise feeling quietly introspective. Have a great night!
was def a nice one to revisit jane…
Thanks for sharing your story Brian. I let it be the inspiration for the poem I chose to share… just a nudge to remember to be grateful and appreciative for every moment in life.
any time i can be an inspiration is a good moment…smiles…thank you serena
Remembering how it was to get back from Manattan to my kids in the Bronx that day…thanks for sharing your story here.
thank you jj….enjoyed your perspective on it as well….
thank you for reminding us to take a moment to just be silent and honor those heroes… and all the heroes… everywhere and everywhen.
my grandson was born on September 10, 2001 but it was a week before we could get a seat to fly up to see him. such a joyous, miraculous event as birth and the next day a horrific event beyond my imagining. and so the world was changed…
i linked in something light, not out of disrespect, but because nothing i write could ever do the memories of that day justice.
i’ll be back in a bit to visit.
if everyone wrote about it my eyes would be wore out right now…so yours was a nice sensual relief dani….
New here. I guess picked a great day to start!!! Remembering, cherishing life and forgiving those that have done me wrong, because life truly can be taken in a moment. Thanks for any comments and views in advance. I will try to get to you all as time permits!!! 🙂
hey great to see you..and any day is a great day to start but today all the more…wow on your poem…intense…hard thoughts…
Thanks for the story. I linked something that isn’t quite light, but not dark either. Different people deal with pain in different ways….
true that…be by in a few minutes…
Sorry – I’ve been very out of commission today – thanks for all the kind comments – I’m going to have a bit of time now to go read! k.
It is always good to take a moment to remember and be thankful for heroes, both here and around the world. What far outlived the smoke and dust and wreckage of the day were the stories of sacrifice and complete focus on others and their well-being. 9/11 was and is a horrendous tragedy, a gash that scars our country, but rather than causing an implosion as was intended, it became a story of growth and humanity. Thank you for sharing your experience of the day, and for the reminder to stop and remember.
i like it being a story of growth and humanity….good way to put it….
My 6-grader, who was born in 2001, came home from school today and told me that a couple of teachers talked to them about what happened eleven years ago. This was the first time it happened, and still I think it was just an individual initiative of those few teachers. Last year there was no mentioning of 9/11 at school, no commemoration. It’s very sad.
My poem is not about 9/11, but I believe it fits, for it’s written in the spirit of remembrance.
it is in our curriculum at the end of the year in HS…but we took it upon ourselves to talk about it today….
alright poets…the bed is calling me…be back bright & early to return comment and visit the over nights….peace and flowing pens to you!
What a human tragedy it was; sometimes I think about the team from Montana who went to help dig out what remained and the man interviewed said he had breathed people into his own body because the fumes included human ashes…that image, and so many others make me cry…
wow had not heard that one…
good morning poets!
My poem is about 9/11. A different perspective from a foreigner.
i appreciate that for sure…and could def tell but the thinking it a movie feel def rings true…
off to work poets…will check in at lunch…
I’ve been running a little behind, but I’m here! Thanks everyone and thanks Brian for your very real story of 9-11. It’s crazy how we can remember so many details of that particular day, but maybe not the day before.
smiles…good to see you dana…just came from your place…love all the natural elements…
there are like 5 poets i could not get to go through our filter here at lunch…i will catch you this eve….hope everyone is having a great day!
Out there….just came from brian miller, going back to comment now. Have a great
night all. Going to read in the pub….
woot good to see you….smiles…have fun…some great stuff out there…and a great piece yourself…really like the rhythm and rhyme you got going on…tight verse…
about an hour left poets…on my way to bed so anyone that rolls in i will see you in the AM…
Yes, we each have a story about that day but your story is really remarkable, Brian. This was such a thoughtful post. (No open link from me…just enjoying reading)
I came upon this NY Times article while remembering and thought I’d pass it along; I was unaware of this archive….here.