They say 20 young sprouts
were cut down in pre- bloom
for fools know nothing of seeds
or a stone thrown
to still waters
history will only record
the bottom line, and time
will forget the missing links
little Mary was going to be
a firefighter
saving seven children
from a burning house
and the children's children
Steven would've shared the Nobel
for curing cancer
Tammy would have flown in
under heavy fire, against the orders
to rescue 27 wounded comrades
pinned down
Tommy was going to counsel
those with aids
Sarah? a politician who
finally got it right
Billy would build shelters while
Linda performed surgery at Mayo
some would be poets and singers
one or two, teachers nurturing
a new garden of growth
and Corrine would have 10 children
who would have 23
who would have 59
now, all that is gone
and history a liar as
thousands of thousands
disappeared in the spiral
of the twisting wreckage
and the rest of us
are wounded forever
as one cannot exist
separate from society
we share the air, the parks
the fields, our dreams
our hope and our lives
and no one, falls alone
do the math
feel the ripple
hurt
