Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait

A tall bearded man,
wearing a stovepipe hat
steps forward and greets them,
Then says, "Lets chat".

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer says, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer says, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer says, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

A man with a twang from New England shores
Then proclaimed in a voice they had all heard before
"Courage like yours does not hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day

"In the land of the living, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons

We smiled, we laughed,
we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of ruined streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, rubble and dust
And people working just 'cause they must

Hauling ash,
lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell
But not alone

"Look! Blackman, whiteman, brownman, and yellow
Side by side helping their fellow!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those you've never met
All of their lives, they'll never forget
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

The man named Abe stood and said
"Welcome my friends," and from there he led,
five thousand Newcomers, all heroes to heaven

Author: Paul Spreadbury


The Day The Towers Fell

A sad day for America
as rejoicing rang from hell
awakening a mighty giant
the day the towers fell.
Our hearts were saddened
as we watched this vicious act unfold
as innocence met a fiery death
and seeds of war were sowed.
Shouts rang out from the middle east
that Allah has done his good
but no God joys in faultless deaths
though certain cowards could.
America just sort of glides along
but don't step on her toes
for her belief in right and justice
will stomp out freedoms foes.


If I Knew

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
And pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
That I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
And call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
So I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
To stop and say "I love you,"
Instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
So I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
To make up for an oversight,
And we always get a second chance
To make everything just right.

There will always be another day
To say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
To say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
And today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
And I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
Young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
You get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
Why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
You'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
For a smile, a hug, or a kiss
And you were too busy to grant someone,
What turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
And whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
And that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
You'll have no regrets about today.

Nine Eleven

A busy day up high in heaven,
Terror struck on nine eleven.

God welcomed each one the same.
They died for freedom, not for fame.

Left to rest, so many lives;
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives.

They now rest where heroes do,
For they themselves are heroes too.

They all look down, an empty floor
Where two twin towers once stood before.

Tons of rubble no longer there.
We now rebuild, hair by hair.

We're better now, we say at least,
But look again -- the Middle East.

Bombs hit caves and mountain sides,
And then their bombers -- suicides.

The Devil's name still kept in mind,
Osama Bin Laden we will find.

And when we do, let freedom ring.
'God Bless America' we shall sing.

A busy day back down on earth,
As America now goes through rebirth.

Author:  Brian Ball