I dream’d in a dream, I saw a city invincible to the attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth;
I dream’d that was the new City of Friends;
Nothing was greater there than the quality of robust love -- it led the rest;
It was seen every hour in the actions of the men of that city,
And in all their looks and words.
-- Walt Whitman, 1860
In the days after Sept. 11, 2001, Union Square turned into a living memorial. Someone erected models of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the plaza near 14th Street, and they were decked out in flowers and candles and notes of despair and consolation. I found the verse above on a card tucked in with the rest, and remember it as the most poignant message of all.
4 comments:
What a beautiful post. No one living in your city or mine will ever let this day slip by without remembering. Thank you.
There is nothing I can add. Thank you for the post.
My cousin used to work on floor 77 of the WTC, but, luckily, moved to an adjoining building when she became Assistant State Attorney General for New York - I still remember going to her office a few weeks after 9/11 and seeing the smoke billowing from the crater - I stood there in disbelief even then, weeks later. Obviously, though, I mourn not just for the victims of 9/11 (and others who suffered under US imperialism), but for those who have died due to war and terrorism in general.
JDZS: I agree. There's a lot of room for mourning in this decade.
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