The World of Grandpa Don

Two Thousand One, Nine Eleven 
 
 Two thousand one, nine eleven 
 Five thousand plus arrive in heaven 
 As they pass through the gate, 
 Thousands more appear in wait 
 
 A bearded man with stovepipe hat 
 Steps forward saying, 
 "Lets sit, lets chat" 
 
 They settle down in seats of clouds 
 A man named Martin shouts out proud 
 "I have a dream!" and once he did 
 The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives." 
 
 Groups of soldiers in blue and gray 
 Others in khaki, and green then say 
 "We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine" 
 The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain." 
 
 From a man on sticks one could hear 
 "The only thing we have to fear. 
 The Newcomer said, "We know the rest, 
 trust us sir, we've passed that test." 
 
 "Courage doesn't hide in caves 
 You can't bury freedom, in a grave," 
 The Newcomers had heard this voice before 
 A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores 
 
 A silence fell within the mist 
 Somehow the Newcomer knew that this 
 Meant time had come for her to say 
 What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day 
 
 "Back on Earth, we wrote reports, 
 Watched our children play in sports 
 Worked our gardens, sang our songs 
 Went to church and clipped coupons 
 
 We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought 
 Unlike you, great we're not" 
 
 The tall man in the stovepipe hat 
 Stood and said, "don't talk like that! 
 Look at your country, look and see 
 You died for freedom, just like me" 
 
 Then, before them all appeared a scene 
 Of rubbled streets and twisted beams 
 Death, destruction, smoke and dust 
 And people working just 'cause they must 
 
 Hauling ash, lifting stones, 
 Knee deep in hell 
 But not alone 
 
 "Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman 
 Side by side helping their fellow man!" 
 So said Martin, as he watched the scene 
 "Even from nightmares, can be born a dream." 
 
 Down below three firemen raised 
 The colors high into ashen haze 
 The soldiers above had seen it before 
 On Iwo Jima back in '44 
 
 The man on sticks studied everything closely 
 Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly 
 "I see pain, I see tears, 
 I see sorrow - but I don't see fear." 
 
 "You left behind husbands and wives 
 Daughters and sons and so many lives 
 are suffering now because of this wrong 
 But look very closely. You're not really gone. 
 
 All of those people, even those who've never met you 
 All of their lives, they'll never forget you 
 Don't you see what has happened? 
 Don't you see what you've done? 
 You've brought them together, together as one. 
 
 With that the man in the stovepipe hat said 
 "Take my hand," and from there he led 
 five thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven 
 On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven 

 By Paul Spreadbury, 
York Beach, ME 
beesboy@earthlink.net

Shared by ... Kathy Drust
Alene L. Wesner, a visitor,
provided the author's name 
and email address.