Today I am in mourning,



the world lays heavy on my heart,

I know I have to get something down,

but I just don't know where to start.

Words have been my friend,

at most times they've served me well,

but today they are so inadequate,

because this story is so very hard to tell.

Everything for a reason,

or at least that's what I thought,

but try adding up the logic,

and today it comes to naught.

There's a baby crying somewhere,

her Daddy won't be coming home tonight,

he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,

and got involved in someone else's fight.

And as the chaos unfolded,

the sun in the sky brightly shone,

but it too seemed strangely sad,

the warmth in its smile had simply gone.

The images will always haunt me,

one last jump to save their lives,

one last thought of their children,

one last thought of their wives.

The Brothers, the brave rescue workers,

who went in when most would have fled,

so courageous and dedicated to the end,

maybe that's enough said...

Apart from; I am not a vengeful man,

but I too, have an unyielding anger deep inside,

and I pray that they get these bastards,

and that they have no place left to hide.

My children have lost their innocence,

so too the World as it grieved as one.

How do you explain this madness?

What can you tell your teenage son?

My heart goes out to the families,

and to the American nation as a whole,

for today I lost a part of me,

and so has the World and it's soul.

Copyright Allen Jesson :( 2001

Allen followed this poem with The World And It's Soul II, this more hopeful and less bitter poem was written the following day:

The World And Its Soul (Part II)

I have been blessed and cursed with perception,

because I can see what life has in store,

and my dreams of eternal peace,

seemed to have been dashed for ever more.

I have four beautiful children,

My God! What sort of life have I given them?

A world full of hatred?

With hopes and dreams condemned?

I have this dreadful feeling,

that we, as one, are on the edge,

and peace to you my fellow man,

is what I really want to pledge.

But how can life carry on?

With this cancer held within?

Without freedom of speech and movement,

where on Earth can you begin?

And when I think of my children,

from new born to troubled teenage,

how do I love them on the one hand,

and contain this burning rage?

I walked with my youngest son today,

a beautiful spring day in all its glory,

but the sun had lost its golden touch,

it had lost the magic in its story.

I keep trying to look for the positives,

and look for hope on the other side,

but then I cry me a river,

and gee, how I've cried.

I do hope for peace,

but I know we must do our battle first,

we need to satisfy our anger,

we need to quench our bloody thirst.

And hope springs eternal,

and may these days into history fade,

and may we all be very proud,

be proud of the roles that we've played.

Today, I took my four year old to the beach,

and this maybe, comes as no surprise,

because I saw the answer to our dilemma,

when I looked straight into his eyes.

He didn't care too much about what had gone,

but he did care about the sand in his shoes,

and then I thought about his tomorrows,

because he has literally everything to lose.

We all still have that hate and anger,

but we need to temper that callous steel,

we need to look at our family,

and think of how others might feel.

Retribution won't be denied,

but we need to dilute with common sense,

we need the world to survive,

we still need our children's innocence.

Love is stronger than hate,

and love and justice will prevail,

and I hope my children's children,

learn from and live to tell this tale.

So, I am still bitter,

and angry on a whole,

but we need to rebuild, not destroy,

the World and it's Soul.

Copyright Allen Jesson :) 2001