My
Mother on September 11th
We
didn’t know if we would live
Beyond
that Tuesday.
I
rushed from my teaching duties
Thinking
not with my brain
But
my frightened heart.
Filled
the car with gas (what if
the
stations ran dry?)
Took
$200 out from the ATM (what if
the
banks close?)
And
drove my car like a maniac
Over
the backroads to Euclid (what if
the
freeways get jammed?)
To
be with my Mother,
Aged,
blind, living alone, maybe scared . . . .
When
I got there, she was fine,
I
was the one terrified.
She
had lived through 12 years of the Great Depression,
Four
years of The War-To-End-All-Wars,
Followed
by The-War-After-That (Korea), and
The
War-After-That (Vietnam), and
All
the little wars,
All
the little and huge deaths.
She
was peaceful, strong, hopeful,
Helped
her scared oldest son --me--
Face
that terrible day
Gave
me an idea of what to do
Next.
Robert M. Coughlin
September
11, 2003
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