a short poem for humanity this morning by Michael F. Nyiri Sept. 12, 2001 5:00am pdt There is an ill wind blowing through our realities right now, A sense of dread, a thought unsaid, substantial emotion bursting forth Imagined latitudes of worth, the ever present feelings of safety have fled. The world is not the same world this morning. We have lost a precious memory of reality We have lost what innocence we thought we had We have lost a world view that has been changing for two thousand years There is confusion, thoughts of retribution, who can I turn to? God and man We watched, we cried, we saw a great chunk of humanity perish And now, as we begin this morning in the shaky aftermath of uncertainty I feel we need to know there is much more to cherish My thoughts, and yours, are with the souls of this incredible tragedy We suffer with them, as we question our leaders, our redeemers, and our souls as well It is with another steely resolve with which we have to meet the day Because what we lost yesterday can never be regained Much will be remembered in history If history survives the implications A tragedy of biblical proportions portends a world to stop and pray And my heart goes out to all humanity today. Nothing in life prepared us Nothing we feel, read, or see So the morning of the rest of what's left of our sanity We'll just have to breathe deep, wait and see. For if this is the end time predicted so long ago, Then we will fight the battle for good and for God And if this ruthless murder of a way of life is the fault of the few Or of an incorrect ideology, then we will eventually punish this Grand infraction. Humanity is just not the same today. We grieve for our friends, families, and unseen irrationalities. If we naively believed we could live life without enemies, We know now that this is not so. If we felt sad for that part of the world when they suffer each day As they have suffered for centuries, because we saw their pain on television, we felt sad from afar Now that sadness is at our front door The skyline of America has changed. But not the resolve which makes up a global power Through all insanity, there will be some voice of reason And everything will change after this. This morning the world is not the same. Sept. 19 My beautiful friend Donna added my image to her wonderful site, Angelsonmyside, tonight. Also, I wrote a new poem. I'm posting it from this page first. Click Here to read: "Perhaps the Missing Were Prematurely Raptured". As a student of many religions, I embrace many doctrines, and always strive to find the temperate, tolerant center of most any ideology, but I'm a born Baptist and a raised Pentecostal, and my personal religious history includes teachings of a rapture. Some of my most spiritual and religious friends do not believe in a rapture. I know it isn't "mentioned" in the Bible by that name. So forgive me my personal viewpoint in my poetry, when I wish to enlighten humanity, and not just Pentecostal Christians, with my words and images. Sept. 17 Thank you to all the people who forwarded my link, and thank you for signing the guestbook element and sending email. My greatest joy is for people to "read me like a book" and find some personal connection with my words. It's a terrible time for us all, and I'm trying to do what I can. On Sunday, I posted a rather lengthy "essay" covering all the conflicting and heartrendering thoughts I have been having. CLICK HERE to read "A Personal and Universal Response to Tragedy." Sept. 16 I am sad that this page, and the above "alternate image" have not "travelled the web" as I had hoped. The most frequently forwarded image seems to be that of the American Eagle crying, and the most frequently forwarded text is a "letter from a Canadian" which was probably written in the 70s but was sent as an email attachment, and is spreading like wildfire. I had hoped to inspire more people with my image, but only my email list and a few souls who clicked on some links I posted on some message boards have seen it, and for that at least I am grateful. I am preaching tolerance, and hoping that the patriotism exhibited by the people doesn't turn to misdirected hatred for a people, a religion, or an ideology. No one, as of this date, has taken responsibility for these actions, which tells me the carnage is probably not over. I am proud to be an American. I am saddened by the loss of life. But I'm a pragmatist, and I'm not panicked. There were warning signs which weren't heeded. I hope we aren't too blinded by grief that we don't see the next fusilade coming. Israel still bombs Palestine. The strife in the Middle East continues. Sept. 12 My heart cries for humanity this morning. I am at an incredible loss of words. My predictions that something far worse than the Y2K scare of 1999 would happen in 2001 has come true, and I don't think anyone could have predicted a tragedy of this scope. At first, like a Los Angeles Freeway chase, the news, which I saw unfolding at work as it happened, was awful, but remote. It was brought closer 21 minutes later when LAX was closed down. The crash into the Pentagon seemed like events from a nightmare. I don't even need to mention the implications social financial and ethical. But something happened at lunch at my regular restaurant. I was talking to the manager and waitresses, we of course were all in shock. Two middle easterners were in the restaurant. They were laughing, yelling , and having a good old time. One of them put a clown mask on. I cannot believe this was happening in Long Beach, California, on a day of national mourning and shock. The police were called. I exited the restaurant as they arrived, guns drawn. I did not wait for the aftermath. If, in Los Angeles, the city of Angels, devils can laugh at our plight in the face of our tragedy, something is very very wrong, and will have to change. The result of this change will change our lives forever. I attempt to answer all individual emails and to give and receive comfort in this time of grief. Now the day will have to begin. My prayers are with you. Michael F. Nyiri poet, philosopher, and fool

AllThingsMike.the personal webhub of Michael F.Nyiri : poet, philosopher, fool

ElectricPoetry . the complete works of Michael F.Nyiri online

ElectricPoetry . the complete works of Michael F.Nyiri online

AllThingsMike.the personal webhub of Michael F.Nyiri : poet, philosopher, fool

"Tragedy" composite and poem copyright 2001 Michael F. Nyiri

a short poem for humanity this morning by Michael F. Nyiri Sept. 12, 2001 5:00am pdt There is an ill wind blowing through our realities right now, A sense of dread, a thought unsaid, substantial emotion bursting forth Imagined latitudes of worth, the ever present feelings of safety have fled. The world is not the same world this morning. We have lost a precious memory of reality We have lost what innocence we thought we had We have lost a world view that has been changing for two thousand years There is confusion, thoughts of retribution, who can I turn to? God and man We watched, we cried, we saw a great chunk of humanity perish And now, as we begin this morning in the shaky aftermath of uncertainty I feel we need to know there is much more to cherish My thoughts, and yours, are with the souls of this incredible tragedy We suffer with them, as we question our leaders, our redeemers, and our souls as well It is with another steely resolve with which we have to meet the day Because what we lost yesterday can never be regained Much will be remembered in history If history survives the implications A tragedy of biblical proportions portends a world to stop and pray And my heart goes out to all humanity today. Nothing in life prepared us Nothing we feel, read, or see So the morning of the rest of what's left of our sanity We'll just have to breathe deep, wait and see. For if this is the end time predicted so long ago, Then we will fight the battle for good and for God And if this ruthless murder of a way of life is the fault of the few Or of an incorrect ideology, then we will eventually punish this Grand infraction. Humanity is just not the same today. We grieve for our friends, families, and unseen irrationalities. If we naively believed we could live life without enemies, We know now that this is not so. If we felt sad for that part of the world when they suffer each day As they have suffered for centuries, because we saw their pain on television, we felt sad from afar Now that sadness is at our front door The skyline of America has changed. But not the resolve which makes up a global power Through all insanity, there will be some voice of reason And everything will change after this. This morning the world is not the same. Sept. 19 My beautiful friend Donna added my image to her wonderful site, Angelsonmyside, tonight. Also, I wrote a new poem. I'm posting it from this page first. Click Here to read: "Perhaps the Missing Were Prematurely Raptured". As a student of many religions, I embrace many doctrines, and always strive to find the temperate, tolerant center of most any ideology, but I'm a born Baptist and a raised Pentecostal, and my personal religious history includes teachings of a rapture. Some of my most spiritual and religious friends do not believe in a rapture. I know it isn't "mentioned" in the Bible by that name. So forgive me my personal viewpoint in my poetry, when I wish to enlighten humanity, and not just Pentecostal Christians, with my words and images. Sept. 17 Thank you to all the people who forwarded my link, and thank you for signing the guestbook element and sending email. My greatest joy is for people to "read me like a book" and find some personal connection with my words. It's a terrible time for us all, and I'm trying to do what I can. On Sunday, I posted a rather lengthy "essay" covering all the conflicting and heartrendering thoughts I have been having. CLICK HERE to read "A Personal and Universal Response to Tragedy." Sept. 16 I am sad that this page, and the above "alternate image" have not "travelled the web" as I had hoped. The most frequently forwarded image seems to be that of the American Eagle crying, and the most frequently forwarded text is a "letter from a Canadian" which was probably written in the 70s but was sent as an email attachment, and is spreading like wildfire. I had hoped to inspire more people with my image, but only my email list and a few souls who clicked on some links I posted on some message boards have seen it, and for that at least I am grateful. I am preaching tolerance, and hoping that the patriotism exhibited by the people doesn't turn to misdirected hatred for a people, a religion, or an ideology. No one, as of this date, has taken responsibility for these actions, which tells me the carnage is probably not over. I am proud to be an American. I am saddened by the loss of life. But I'm a pragmatist, and I'm not panicked. There were warning signs which weren't heeded. I hope we aren't too blinded by grief that we don't see the next fusilade coming. Israel still bombs Palestine. The strife in the Middle East continues. Sept. 12 My heart cries for humanity this morning. I am at an incredible loss of words. My predictions that something far worse than the Y2K scare of 1999 would happen in 2001 has come true, and I don't think anyone could have predicted a tragedy of this scope. At first, like a Los Angeles Freeway chase, the news, which I saw unfolding at work as it happened, was awful, but remote. It was brought closer 21 minutes later when LAX was closed down. The crash into the Pentagon seemed like events from a nightmare. I don't even need to mention the implications social financial and ethical. But something happened at lunch at my regular restaurant. I was talking to the manager and waitresses, we of course were all in shock. Two middle easterners were in the restaurant. They were laughing, yelling , and having a good old time. One of them put a clown mask on. I cannot believe this was happening in Long Beach, California, on a day of national mourning and shock. The police were called. I exited the restaurant as they arrived, guns drawn. I did not wait for the aftermath. If, in Los Angeles, the city of Angels, devils can laugh at our plight in the face of our tragedy, something is very very wrong, and will have to change. The result of this change will change our lives forever. I attempt to answer all individual emails and to give and receive comfort in this time of grief. Now the day will have to begin. My prayers are with you. Michael F. Nyiri poet, philosopher, and fool