I had been up on the viewing deck 15 years earlier on a beautiful New York summer day.Better and wonderful memories of a summer spent in New York and Connecticut in 1986 .The 100th anniversary of the Statute of Liberty. I watched an interview of a young Australian who survived the attack even though he was on the 92nd floor. The many families who lost loved ones and those still badly scared by the attack. The young Australian interviewed only felt sadness on the day .
No one spoke of hate . Most refocused their lives to honour those who died. They do not forget , they remember but as most said life goes on . There is an endless cycle and the human spirit seems to have an unquantifiable ability to absorb all that pain and suffering and move on. It is not a boundary anyone readily wishes to test . But each day we are possibly confronted with that ultimate test and our mortality.
Whilst I prefer not to be introspective and self absorbed by the hype of TV commercialism of such a serious event.It is personal , it is private and so individual to those who have lost loved ones . I prefer to give them that privacy .I do not need to intrude or gawk at the spectacle. It is tragic and sad . There is an over hyping by media for the sake of TV numbers . Having said that , I do reflect on what it is to be a citizen of this world and to ask , a simple question. After a decade of the end of the cold war , the reduced tension of global nuclear annihilation, what and how can a group of individuals feel so aggrieved that they resort to such a horrific degree of violence.
Having said that , 3000 lives lost in New York and countless more wars and violence in Africa and Cambodia and Gaza. What draws us and our attention. Whilst taking life to justify a cause is wrong . We do have a myopic view of justice and causes . The Palestine problem remains and does not attract the attention of the World as 9/11 does . The insoluble problem in the Middle East remains the catalyst because no one is prepared to invest the effort required . The United nations remains divided . Similar to the climate Change debate . It remains the greatest threat to world security. But indecision and self interest remain paramount.
We seem to always move closer to the cliff face of annihilation . I hope we pull back in time . I hope we learn the lessons of history . I hope we learn respect and tolerance. I hope we have wisdom before it is all too late . It is on such a day good to reflect , I am safe here , a beautiful spring day in Perth .
Finally , A short poem by Brisbane Poet Rupert McCall called A Fire Fighters Dream:
A FIRE FIGHTER’S DREAM
His voice boomed like a beacon and it echoed in my soul
From the land of opportunity, reverberations roll
All across the mighty sea to where the Southern Cross stars gleam
I was listening…and I heard it…when he said…I have a dream…
And the dream I had was beautiful – what more could someone pray
Than to wake up in the middle of a perfect summer’s day?
An aqua blue-like canopy pays tribute to the skies
And there I see this young kid with a hero in his eyes
The hero is a humble man and not the type to shirk
A proudly spoken fire-fighter on his way to work
His profession is his passion, his adrenalin, his spark
The hat he wears to battle is his way to make a mark
And waving from a window, now the boy begins to cry
You see the hero is his father…and he hates to say goodbye
And the dream I had was terrible, from nowhere they appear
Monsters in the New York sky that choke the day with fear
It can’t be real – the questions burn with why and who and how?
Go and turn your TV on…please…just do it now…
An evil cloak in plumes of smoke replaces freedom’s gown
The flames reveal their secret truth – the world is falling down
Falling, sprawling, screaming, calling, crying as they go
A fire fighter grabs his hat and flies to meet his foe
Forward into battle now – he hears a church’s bell
Forward into no man’s land - Forward into hell
And the dream I had was powerful – the best of humankind
Courage is a heartfelt word not easily defined
It doesn’t equal ‘fearless’ as some sideline experts claim
No…courage is ‘to be scared…but to go on just the same’
To rally in the moment then to rise and climb the stairs
To save as many people as an act of courage dares
To dig and dig then dig some more – to be there for your mates
To look your leader in the eye and know the end awaits
Underneath the carnage, when the count is done and said
The only thing recovered is his hat of ‘firey’ red
And the dream I had was personal – I’ve put my kids to sleep
But the images still haunt me and reality cuts deep
I see the faces of the fallen – the tape forever runs
I see the mothers and the brothers and the sisters and the sons
And the comrades and the colleagues, they are never to return
But for every face, a candle…and tonight, that flame will burn
It burns for something precious – something every hero gave
It illuminates ‘ground zero’ and commemorates the brave
Of religion, race and rivalry, it burns across that scope
It is pure in its simplicity – tonight, it burns for hope
Yes the dream we share IS hopeful in our darkest hour of hours
Beams of light now kiss the sky where, once, we saw two towers
Of this, be strong and steadfast - Of this, stand tall and say -
There are some things that an enemy can never take away
I can feel it through the flag that flies, defiant in the gloom
I can see it through the window where a boy waits in his room
He is waiting for his hero, still, to walk back through that door
The hat he holds is scuffed and scratched but this, he knows for sure
One day he will wear that hat and pride will reign supreme
Because his father’s gift was freedom and for that…he has a dream…
Rupert McCall 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment