[p o e t r y]

9/11

Being part of Gen Z
Is seeing posts about the Twin Towers
And of the American flag
And nonchalantly thinking
"Oh, tomorrow is 9/11"
For once
I wish we, as Gen Z,
Would be more like
Generation Y- the millennials-
I wish we would not post
"Always remember"
Posts so apathetically
I wish we would instead educated ourselves
On the tragedy
That took place on 9/11
In school, we study World War II
And in class we also study 9/11
But the difference is
They have us read testimonies from WWII
and only facts about 9/11
9/11 is still a fresh wound
For so many millennials
It scared them so bad
That they still can't talk about the tragedy
and yet I wish they would
Because I already know how the smoke
Looked billowing out of the towers
Or how their was a third plane
Aiming for the Pentagon
That never made it past
Somerset County, Pensilvania
I know the facts
I've read the books
I've seen the posts
No, what I want to know is
How the millennials  felt
When the ground shook beneath their feet
When the skies began to rain soot
And the air burned so hot they
Couldn't breathe
I want to know the guilt that the
Custodian who called in sick
Felt that day
As he watched his friends
Choose their death sentence
I want to know how badly his heart ached
As he watched his co-workers
Choose falling over burning
I want to know how
The woman in labor felt
As the happiest day of her life
Suddenly became the most painful day
Of our nation

I'm so tired of reading the history books
No one ever seems to care in history books
I don't want to know the facts
I don't care to watch
Another monotone documentary
I want to know what my nation felt
I want - I need - to know
That my nation,
The millennials, the American people
Cared about the jumpers
Cared about the interns burning
Cared about the people dodging
Debris in the streets

To the millennials:
I am so sorry you had to live through 9/11
But please, please, someone tell me how it felt
Because I need to know that
America cares about the towers ablaze
More than a nonchalant media post
My generation needs to know that
The American people cared
And that they still care deeply
About the tragedy that this nation suffered
Show us you cared
Show us with your testimony
And not with your social media posts
Please