Before We Sacrificed Liberty For 'Security'

On September 11th, 2001, before the Patriot Act was signed, before Congress turned over the power of war declaration to the Executive office, before Snowden and Manning were imprisoned for speaking the truth, before we began bombing the wrong country and hate crimes against Muslims in America soared, I wrote a poem.
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On September 11th, 2001, before the Patriot Act was signed, before Congress turned over the power of war declaration to the Executive office, before Snowden and Manning were imprisoned for speaking the truth, before we began bombing the wrong country and hate crimes against Muslims in America soared, I wrote a poem. I found it today. I think it bears publication.

STATUE OF LIBERTY 9/11/'01

by Dylan Brody

Still she stands,

unmoved.

Though sky-stains tower,

dwarf her majesty,

shrink her under spreading clouds

to a figure of futility,

a gesture on a battlefield,

a flicker in a firestorm,

tiny, she stands,

despite devastation inviting,

book ever-open,

out-looking to the dawn

back turned to mayhem

green eyes wide to shining tides,

unblinking, unflinching.

She stands.

However small

we mortals feel, by fear

reduced, by anger

fueled fantasies of petty vengeance

diminished, or how she looks

against the smoky cityscape,

the scope of seething charcoal sorrows,

swallow back your tears and see.

She stands.

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