Written by:
Demetria Daniels

P: 212-332-9991

718-885-6576 A chatty, informative column of New York events featuring places, people and personalities and celebrities. demetriadaniels@gmail.com

 
Today is September 11, 2003. I cried as Iheard the names read off this morning at the World Trade Center site and thought all about those people that died. It has been a sad day. I wrote this poem after it happened two years ago:

A CHESTNUT TREE
by Demetria Daniels

I WENT TO PICK THE CHESTNUTS FROM THE TREE
ON THIS DAY OF MOURNING
THEY HAD FALLEN IN THEIR SPINEY SHELL
AND I FOUND THREE ON WET GROUND
SOMEHOW THEY MADE ME FEEL BETTER
FOR I HAVE FELT SO BAD, SO SAD FOR MY COUNTRY

FOR I HAD STOOD ON THE ROOF AND WATCHED TWO TOWERS DISAPPEAR
THREE DAYS LATER, I AM WITH TEARS

I WATCHED THE BURNING , I WATCHED THE SMOKE
THJINKING TO MYSELF, IS THIS A JOKE?

BUT NO JOKE IT WAS , A VIRTUAL REALITY

THE ACRID SMELL FLOATED IN THE AIR,
TO BROOKLYN AND ABROAD, LIKE A PYRE, I COULD SEE THE FIRE,
LIGHTING THE BLUE CLOUDLESS SKY, AND THEN JUST SMOKE
STILL NO JOKE

AND I FELT LIKE A FOOL, DUMBED AND NUMB, UNABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS FREAK
PICTURE IN THE SKY.

ISLAM HAD CRUSHED NEW YORK TO CRIPPLE DEMOCRACY
IN THEIR HYPOCISY
AND I SAW ALLAH, RIDING A BLACK HORSE,
SWINGING A SWORD AND CARRYING THE KORAN
AND I WONDERED

WAS THAT THE WORD, OF OUR GOD
OR SOME MONSTER BY THIS BARBARIC MOB

HAS OIL SO WON, SHALL WE TURN TO BUTTER
OR TO THE OLIVES FROM THE TREES?

SO AS I PICK UP CHESTNUTS, FALLEN IN THEIR SPINEY SHELL
AS ALL THE DEMONS ARE TURNED LOOSE FROM HELL
I CRY FOR ALL THOSE LIVES LOST, AND ALL THOSE SOULS,
NO MOR DREAMS, NO MORE GOALS.

ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST, WHERE IS OUR DEFENSE SYSTEM, GONE TO RUST?

THIS IS A PLAN, OF WELL FIVE YEARS,
HURTING US, BRINGING US TO TEARS,

AND BEFORE THEY CRASHED AND BEFORE THEY DIED,
THEY SCREAMED ALLAH IN THEIR PRIDE,

BUT OUR PRESIDENT HAS SPOKE,
BLINDED WITH TEARS, THAT WE WILL OVERCOME
WITHIN YEARS, EACH FLAME LIT,
A VIGIL DONE, WE WILL WAGE WAR
AND MAKE THEM RUN.

AND FROM THOSE ASHES, THE FLAG STILL FLIES,
WORLD TRADE WILL GO ON ,
AND THE PHOENIX WILL RISE,
AND I WILL GO
BACK TO THE PARK
TO FIND MORE CHESTNUTS,
FALLEN FROM THEIR BARK.

SEPT 14, 2001
posted by Demetria at 8:25 PM