A cobalt sky

The South Bronx

Sixth grade place value

Fifth day teacher

A principal

The hallway

An airplane struck a tower

An accident?

Call your husband

Robert’s mother was the first to arrive

She was sobbing

A second plane

Little information

No images

A vague announcement

More

The Pentagon. Capitol Building? The White House?

A field

One by one, children trickled from the classroom

I taught

They worked

It was Alake’s 11^th birthday

Many stayed ‘til the day’s end

At three, my colleague walked to Queens

I drove north on an empty highway

Not realizing I was a lucky one

Until the television showed me

Sickened

Horrified

Paralyzed

Outside a father played catch with his son

My husband played golf.

We can’t stop our lives; we can’t live in fear.  That’s what they want.

Grasping for normalcy

Forever changed

But not broken

United

Determined

Resilient

And here.  Still.  Years later.

To remember.  Pay tribute.  Share memories.

To teach

To serve

To live

We are still here

There must be a reason