They Came Running (911 - The Twin Towers) Poem by Cecil (cj) Krieger

They came running
Without pause
Without thought
Without hesitation
Not away
But towards the dangers
That lay ahead

They came running
Not because
It was their job
Not because
They were brave
But because
Their brothers
Their sisters
Their friends
And most of all
Those they never knew
Needed them

They came running
Because someone disagreed
With the way
We chose to live and believe
And worship, and pray
With the way
We did something
They did not do
They came running

They came running
From down the street
Across the city
Across the boroughs
Across the rivers
From miles and miles away
And they stayed until
Nothing remained

And when
It was all over
And many
Who had come running
Had died
Along with those
Who could not be saved
The brave sat and cried
Not because
It was their job
Or because
They were brave
But because
Many of their
Brothers, sisters, friends
And those they never knew
People with and without faces
Who had called out to them
Were lost
In the smoke
Of what had fallen

But I remember
I will not forget
That when
They were called upon
When
They were needed
When
The world
Seemed to be falling
And when others
Like me
Looked on
Not knowing what to do
… They
Came
Running