Names

As I stand at ground zero, I look down and run my fingers across
the structure of each engraved name. I remember
where I was at that moment when the calm of life
collapsed. I read each of their names in my mind and

I see more than just names –

these names are the heroes forever sculptured in the marbled
heart of American pride; they are the memories
of fathers who have died
but their bravery will always rise
and live on through the horizon
of a child’s eyes.

They are the pronunciations of mothers who
gave birth to spirit and patriotism;
they are our tears.

They are the sons and daughters,
the friends & neighbors we have gained
through tragedy. But here they will always be.

They are the faces we will never forget
and the heartbeats we remember as they have
become lives who were lost

on that one day in September. They are the seeds
planted in today’s soil; statues of memories
foiled

in our hearts as reminders
of the day America cried.