|
Dear WORLD MEMORIAL,
Below I have pasted my poem "Memorial" which I read earlier this month at several poetry readings to a very favorable
response. It describes an idea for a memorial garden with sculptures crafted from items found after the attack.
-----------------------------------------
Plans have been proposed and rejected
for a memorial at the site of the former World Trade Center
Big round buildings
buildings in a circle
buildings at the corners
lumps of metal and stone
to house new offices
conduct business as usual
That’s not what we need there
Instead let’s plant a garden
to celebrate life and seasons
with pathways that meander
through marsh grasses, shrubs
and weeping cherry trees
with benches placed for mourners
in small clearings
Let us commission a hundred artists
to create sculptures
from unclaimed or donated objects
found at the site, bent metal
charred shards of glass and plastic
cinders from explosion, hellfire
and collapse, transformed
to works of great beauty
Build a monument to hold a
burned and burnished stone
for each life lost
and wind chimes, crafted
from bits of seared
steel to catch the breezes
and the voices of the dead
Sandra Graff
|
