Victory Eternal

As I stand here and gaze
upon rebirth, I am transported 8 years.
I hear the screams of agony and confusion
until they fill my ears and make my head throb.
Ash falling upon my skin, filling nostrils,
re-coloring pigment shade upon shade grayer.
Brother running for brother, confused
passengers on the subways below mystified
as to why their trains have jolted and stopped.
Panic, sheer panic, and pain surging through our arteries.
And then the bodies begin to fall.
Curiosity leads to relief and gratitude for
inconveniences in monotonous routines and guilty graces.
Parched lips thirsting to be free of the tastes of dust and blood.
Eight years later ... eight scar-laden years later.
Never a day has there not been victory here,
here at Ground Zero.

Thinking

Thumb and middle finger parallel on my chin
Index finger pressing in to pursed lips
Eyes down or staring out seemingly into space
That is how I sit thinking

I wonder if people think I'm crazy.
Is anyone even looking at me?
And so I sit, and sit, and sit
seemingly doing nothing but thinking all the while.

Thinking, that mysterious art that solves enigmas,
That way which breathes peace into tense times,
The mode which resurrects childhood truths and images.
I sit thinking, understanding the power I wield.

Letter to Robert

Dear Robert,
Each day comes as you try and live
existing in three prisons ---
prison of the soul, prison of sin, and
the one your fellow humans built for you.
Turmoil swirls around and within as you
long for a rebirthed life.
Yet, my dear beloved brother,
you already hold the your own cell's key to freedom.
It pains me to know that you
haven't already accepted this.
Though others pained you and misused you,
trust me dear brother Robert.
Love, unconditional love,
despite all that you are good or bad,
despite all the turns life has presented to you,
love my brother, is the key which you possess.
Fight the doubts that say it isn't true
and believe.
The door is already open.
With love,
your sister Amanda