Free Verse
September 11th
When we set
a date
for coffee,
you picked Thursday,
September 11th;
and now I don't think
of espressos,
of bagels or a patio chat,
only airplanes exploding,
towers imploding,
a war on terror
launched.
I want my eleventh
of September back,
without the carnage
that now comes with it.
I want its return
as a late summer day,
with a sun that warms our arms
still bared
by breezy, short-sleeved shirts,
with the kids settled in at school,
first-week jitters all behind,
a time to stroll
through country fairs,
red and yellow
coding games of chance.
