Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f9I49h018748; Thu, 18 Oct 2001 00:09:44 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 00:09:44 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <000701c15789$e996e140$fb4ffea9@sgwsnet> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Anna Kalina" <askalina@cts.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:1770] Re: poetry X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 6055 Lines: 152 This is a Beautifully Emotional poem, Daphne. Thank you for posting it. The language of poetry is so dense and a lot to take in at once. This poem demonstrates that Everyone is affected by what happened- and the continuing fears and terrorism. It reflects our differences in perspectives and experience, but also, and I would argue more importantly, it reflects what links all humans together--may we all know peace! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daphne Greenberg" <alcdgg@langate.gsu.edu> To: "Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2001 7:58 PM Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:1769] poetry > Here is another poem that was sent to me, full of vocabulary, images and current events that can elicit rich lessons in some adult literacy classrooms: > > REST IN PEACE > (by Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh) > > I am a World Trade Center tower, standing tall in the > clear blue sky, feeling a violent blow in my side, and > I am a towering inferno of pain and suffering > imploding upon myself and collapsing to the ground. > May I rest in peace. > > I am a terrified passenger on a hijacked airplane not > knowing where we are going or that I am riding on fuel > tanks that will be instruments of death, and I am a > worker arriving at my office not knowing that in just > a moment my future will be obliterated. > May I rest in peace. > > I am a pigeon in the plaza between the two towers > eating crumbs from someone's breakfast when fire rains > down on me from the skies, and I am a bed of flowers > admired daily by thousands of tourists now buried > under five stories of rubble. > May I rest in peace. > > I am a firefighter sent into dark corridors of smoke > and debris on a mission of mercy only to have it > collapse around me, and I am a rescue worker risking > my life to save lives who is very aware that I may not > make it out alive. > May I rest in peace. > > I am a survivor who has fled down the stairs and out > of the building to safety who knows that nothing will > ever be the same in my soul again, and I am a doctor > in a hospital treating patients burned from head to toe who knows that these horrible images will remain in my mind forever. > May I know peace. > > I am a tourist in Times Square looking up at the giant > TV screens thinking I'm seeing a disaster movie as I > watch the Twin Towers crash to the ground, and I am a > New York woman sending e-mails to friends and famil > letting them know that I am safe. > May I know peace. > > I am a piece of paper that was on someone's desk this > morning and now I'm debris scattered by the wind > across lower Manhattan, and I am a stone in the > graveyard at Trinity Church covered with soot from > the buildings that once stood proudly above me, death > meeting death. > May I rest in peace. > > I am a dog sniffing in the rubble for signs of life, > doing my best to be of service, and I am a blood donor > waiting in line to make a simple but very needed > contribution for the victims. > May I know peace. > > I am a resident in an apartment in downtown New York > who has been forced to evacuate my home, and I am a > resident in an apartment uptown who has walked 100 > blocks home in a stream of other refugees. > May I know peace. > > I am a family member who has just learned that someone > I love has died, and I am a pastor who must comfort > someone who has suffered a heart-breaking loss. > May I know peace. > > I am a loyal American who feels violated and vows to > stand behind any military action it takes to wipe > terrorists off the face of the earth, and I am a loyal > American who feels violated and worries that people > who look and sound like me are all going to be blamed for this tragedy. > May I know peace. > > I am a frightened city dweller who wonders whether > I'll ever feel safe in a skyscraper again, and I am a > pilot who wonders whether there will ever be a way to > make the skies truly safe. > May I know peace. > > I am the owner of a small store with five employees > that has been put out of business by this tragedy, and > I am an executive in a multinational corporation who > is concerned about the cost of doing business in a > terrorized world. > May I know peace. > > I am a visitor to New York City who purchases > postcards of the World Trade Center Twin Towers that > are no more, and I am a television reporter trying to > put into words the terrible things I have seen. > May I know peace. > > I am a boy in New Jersy waiting for a father who will > never come home, and I am a boy in a faraway country > rejoicing in the streets of my village because someone > has hurt the hated Americans. > May I know peace. > > I am a general talking into the microphones about how > we must stop the terrorist cowards who have > perpetrated this heinous crime, and I am an > intelligence officer trying to discern how such a > thing could have happened on American soil, and I am a > city official trying to find ways to alleviate the > suffering of my people. > May I know peace. > > I am a terrorist whose hatred for America knows no > limit and I am willing to die to prove it, and I am a > terrorist sympathizer standing with all the enemies of > American capitalism and imperialism, and I am a master > strategist for a terrorist group who planned this > abomination. My heart is not yet capable of openness, > tolerance, and loving. > May I know peace. > > I am a citizen of the world glued to my television > set, fighting back my rage and despair at these > horrible events, and I am a person of faith struggling > to forgive the unforgivable, praying for the > consolation of those who have lost loved ones, calling > upon the merciful beneficence of > God/Yahweh/Allah/Spirit/Higher Power. > May I know peace. > > I am a child of God who believes that we are all > children of God and we are all part of each other. > May we all know peace. > > >
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