A poem by Leda Rodis (age 14). Thank you so much, Val, for posting it. I know just what she means when she says:
It’s funny
what you notice:
a pen rolling across the floor
my screen saver flicker and go off
a picture of you
and me
at Coney Island.
(via Beth)
Can you imagine being 14 years old and being that aware of others? I mean, this child was able to put herself in the place of the victims in a way that many of us couldn’t- no, WOULDN’T . It is hard, and painful to imagine what must have been going through people’s minds when they realized their lives on earth were coming to an end. It is scary, and makes me,as a 36 year old woman mighty uncomfortable. Have I done enough with my life? Have I made a difference? Will I be able to die with dignity? So, I buried my head and watched news reports and cried on the surface, but never allowed myself to go deeper. Until today. For some reason, today is harder than two years ago for me, and even one year ago. I feel like “it” snuck up on me and sucker punched me all over again. But this kid- a 14 year old CHILD- went to that hard place long before any adults did. Wow.
I was blown away by the poem when I heard it in the short film. So succinct. So resonant. So cognizant of what those that actually lived those moments must have been thinking.
I can read it a hundred times and still have to hold the tears.
Let me clarify: When I said “I know what she means”, that wasn’t quite correct. How can anyone really know what it meant to those people in that building that day? Leda gives us a clue, she imagines her way in. I guess what I meant was: Wow. I can imagine that that would be JUST what it would have been like.
I know what you meant – you touched on it when you talked about remembering reading Catch-22 on September 11th 2 years ago – it’s those little tiny details that zoom into focus when what’s happening around us is too big to look at.
Well, okay, maybe that’s not exactly what you meant, but there seemed to be a parallel.
For Some Reason
I have been revisiting Sept. 11 lately. I’ve been reading a book called 102 Minutes : The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, and working my way through Sheila’s Sept. 11 Archive.