An annual tribute I started in 2002. Please take a moment to remember those we lost, those who fought for our freedom, and those that still do. I believe the words I wrote a year after the tragedy are as applicable today as they were then.
What It Wasn't
What it wasn't, was the squashing of spirits.
Both of the living and the late
It wasn't the brutal end of freedom.
It wasn't the titanic fall of a kingdom.
What it wasn't, was the end of democracy.
Nor the fall of civilized life
It wasn't the horrid beginning of a new regime.
It wasn't the terrorists' torrential opportunity to beam.
What it wasn’t, was destruction of Stars and Stripes.
Not the de-masting of a flag
It wasn’t the outrageous termination of the Eagle.
It wasn’t the enemy escaping after repeated evil.
What it wasn’t, was the fall of the Oval Office.
The Pentagon survived the test
It wasn’t the untimely death of the state.
It wasn’t a puncture, or gash in the gate.
What it wasn’t, was actions of the just.
A far cry from humanity
It wasn’t the downward spiral of our liberty.
It wasn’t the right, it wasn’t initiated, it wasn’t victory for the guilty.
-Bryan Hersh
What It Was
What it was, was an attack on the civilized world.
An insult to humanity, and individual rights and freedoms
It was a gruesome holocaust of death.
It was the time of thousands final breaths.
What it was, was the end of the World as we knew it.
A new realism, filled with frustration, and disgust
It was an appalling narcissistic end.
It was brutality that would transcend.
What it was, was cruelty incarnated.
A selfish act fueled by jealousy, greed and hatred
It was the brutal embodiment of evil.
It was against all that was known primeval.
What it was, was an about face turn of reality.
A changed moral and ethical view
It was a new defense against that which they stole.
It was a new dimension to civilized soul.
What it was, was the creation of a new culture.
A birth of new heroes
It was the miracle of humanity that stood in irony.
It was the future. Bitter as honey.
-Bryan Hersh
