May God now bless us all with His peace which transcends understanding......

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
(Psalms 50:15)

The Quiet 2 (Sept. 12, 2001)
by Brian QTN

Approached by the furthest uneven yesterday, where tumult and cataclysm
erode from a mountainous sky, we looked up to see a smouldering meteor the
size of 42 houses come crashing to the earth, throwing up dust and
evaporating rocks for miles around. The ground quaked and heaved and
trembled a frightened gasping hush.

And then there was The Quiet.

Nothing would dare move. No one could call out. Even at the heat of the
day, cosmic dust trails filled the off-green sky blocking heat and light.
Between people who were closest, word became thought. Stunned into present
time, alert and aware, there were no "what ifs" or even "what nows".
Routine was forever changed again. Everything became significant.
Distracted from commerce, numbers and logic, life  itself took on new
meanings, calling with a wild new sensuousness. Nerves were raw, imploded,
frayed and exposed, yet also strangely soothed. Everything that was only a
short while ago deemed impossible now seemed likely. Every anxiety and
inevitability seemed distant, now nearly imaginary.

Awakened by the highest molecular call, something juicy began again
flowing
and flooding, streaming and surging in that moment when collective vision
gasps and pauses in stupefied horror, breathes deeply in and waits, and
begins again on the outbreath, mechanism reset; conscious and altogether
aware in some sort of celestial unison never to be less vigilant again.
********
 

©September 12, 2001 Brian Cutean (QTN)
 Redbird Café Poetry Parlor/Whistling Pig Music
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited by law.

You may write Brian a note HERE!
 

dear friends, family and co-workers --
by Larry Looney

   On this day, just a little more than 24 hours after
the tragedies in New York, Washington and
Pennsylvania, I'm sure that many of us are still in
varying states of shock that such an awful deed could
have been perpetrated on our fellow human beings.  It
is a time when each of us must look within ourselves,
to the pillars of faith that we have constructed over
the course of our lifetimes, and trust that we may
lean on them -- for it is hard to stand under the
weight of such suffering and sorrow as we have beheld.
 It crushes out hearts.

   The government -- and many others -- seem to be
coming to the conclusion that these horrors were
enacted by the organization led by Osama bin Laden.
This may or may not prove to be true -- but there are
things we mush bear clearly in mind as we face the
trials of the time just ahead of us, of our nation, of
the world.

   If this is indeed the work of so-called 'Islamic
fundamentalist' terrorists, we must, as thinking,
feeling citizens of this planet, remember -- and help
others remember -- that nothing in the Koran, Islam's
holy text, teaches such cruelty and disregard for
human life as we have witnessed.  Those who kill in
the name of God -- whatever name they give Him -- are
not truly spiritual people, and are in no way
representative of those who sincerely practice their
faith.  Prejudice is prejudice, no matter its source
or target -- and it is an evil thing.

   Right-thinking Muslims all over the world have
expressed horror and outrage at the events that took
place yesterday.  There have, thankfully, only been a
few scattered incidents of retribution against persons
of Middle-Eastern heritage -- but even one is too
many, and acts such as this sully our nation's sense
of right.  It was for religious freedom, after all,
that many of our forefathers came to America.  Letting
our grief and anger vent itself upon any and all
Muslims is just as wrong as the terrorists striking
out against any and all Americans for what they
perceive to be the wrongs committed by our government.

   Sri Ramakrishna, a great Indian saint of the late
19th century, said 'All religions, when practiced
sincerely, are true.  All paths lead to the same
goal'.  We must remember that 'Allah akbar!' means
'God is great' -- those who choose to use it as a
battle cry have sadly lost the thread of their faith,
twisting it into something it was never meant to be.

   If we hear someone speaking with prejudice against
Muslims or Middle-easterners, it is our duty both
spiritually and as Americans to gently remind them
that this is a thorny path to walk.  We must love our
fellow humans enough to do this -- for all of our
sakes.

   A couple of days before this tragedy occurred, a
quotation from Jesus came into my thoughts -- it now
seems so appropriate:

   'As you did this to the least of these, my
brethren, you did it to me.'  -- Matthew 25:40.
 

salaam
shalom
pax
peace

--Larry

©September 12, 2001 L. Looney
 Redbird Café Poetry Parlor/Whistling Pig Music
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited by law.

You may write Larry HERE!

Very Temporary Blues
 by Nancy Fierstien
 

Tenderness stems
      from a broken crystal vase.

Red roses carry thorns
     to my splendid garden's heart.

***********
 

©September 13, 2001 Nancy Fierstien/ Poetry in Motion
 Redbird Café Poetry Parlor/Whistling Pig Music
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited by law.

You may write Nancy HERE!