ten years ago, what seems a lifetime ago,
another teacher ran into our room,
and she whispered into my teacher's ear;
we all watched her face morph into terror,
her eyes screamed of a thousand voices.
her feet stammered over to the TV.
our hearts thudded with each of her heavy steps,
we didn’t know why, but we could each feel it,
couldn't understand the pain lingering in the air,
not until she pushed the power button,
the greatest horror movie I have ever seen.
I couldn't wrap my mind around the moment,
couldn't digest the reality of the situation,
but I can always remember a pain in my chest,
my heart knew all too well, and so it wept.
every time I look at my phone and I see
that it's 9:11, there’s a spark in my chest,
a spark of that pain, no exaggeration.
that very day, in the second grade,
was the day that I stopped wondering
which crayons were the coolest trend,
and began to wonder why pain existed.
that moment changed my entire life.
the next year I moved to Okinawa, Japan,
where my whole life was based around the war,
my family, my friend's family, every aspect
was focused on the war, and then came the second.
more pain, more loss, I saw too many friend's cry,
went to too many memorial ceremonies,
and so I asked the question "why does pain exist?"
ten years later, a million question left unanswered,
and I still remember the moment that I began to ask,
began this quest far too early in my life,
and to think, I am amongst the least affected.
I shall never forget that pain, that fear,
the look in my mothers' eyes when she picked me up
from school and cried the whole drive home.
I will never forget sitting in front of the TV for hours,
crying alongside my big, strong mannered brother,
watching history scar the souls of the world.
ten years ago, the world wept, the world feared,
the world pained, the world angered, the world reacted.
ten years ago, I remember it all, I could never forget.