REST IN PEACE
 

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 family 
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 Rabbi 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 Jersey 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 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!
 

This Christmas will feel different
I truely wish for Peace On Earth 
God Bless Everyone
Merry Christmas and Peaceful Feelings ...

A Deep, Abiding, Heartfelt Peace 
Is my Christmas Wish for You!