OUR KENNEDY MOMENT

They say every generation has it's "Kennedy Moment", that being able to recall with almost super-human clarity where you were and what you were doing at the exact time you heard about JFK's assassination. My own generation has had two "Kennedy Moments", those being Diana's death and 911.

The generation before was of course the Kennedy one, but there are some who may say Elvis's death was a "Kennedy Moment" too. Then the previous generation is rather harder to Clarify, Churchill's death maybe.

So where were you on September 11th 2oo1? Me, I was at my job with Bord Gais(Irish Gas Board) in their south county Dublin offices, manning the Emergency leak telephone lines, when we heard that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. No one knew what type of plane, so we assumed it was a small Cessna or something like that. But then people who were in the canteen downstairs came up and said it was a commercial plane and the building was on fire. It had been a busyish morning on the phones, but after the first plane went in the calls dried-up, everyone was glued to the TV news.

I went down to the canteen on my lunch and stood watching the sight on the TV in the corner..I got my meal and sat down facing the screen, as I was tucking into it, I watched the other plane hit. At first just like the newscasters, I thought we were seeing a rerun on the pictures coming from the American stations. But then it dawned on us that both towers were now burning.. I've never witnessed an execution. But that day along with millions of others I saw 59 innocent victims die right there infront of my eyes(this was akin to the German soldiers marching their victims into the gas chambers, there was no way out for those souls), I couldn't finish my meal.

Ok I can also say I watched the towers fall, so I again witnessed along with the rest of us 2,628 people lose their lives trying to escape. Before that day too I'd never seen a "Jumper", we saw a few of them. Poor desperate people trapped above the impact points to which there was no chance of rescue or escape.

This year is the 8th anniversary of the events of that day, in 2002 I wrote a poem in memory of all those who were killed in the twin towers, lest we forget the victims in the Pentagon and on united 93, it's for them too.

This is the first time it's been published, despite trying to get it onto poetry.com alongside a previous award winner of mine.

IT CAME FROM THE AIR


I crossed the marble flooring as ground beneath us shook,
There by elevators a phantom of my partner I mistook,
Then briefly in an instant they’d gone again from there,
Now where they stood, terror and panic filled the air air air….

Disfigured and tormented wraiths ran screaming from the stairs,
Outside the world was raining crimson and darkness filled the Air air air.

I dialled the phone upon my desk,
Mum I love you,
I said with despair despair despair….

Sam’s mobile rang out,
And with broken heart and tears,
I said to a recording, take care, care, care

Across the hall in my bosses’ office they did come,
Two frightened souls whose escape was in one last affair affair Affair….

The office now filled with tears, as we knew our plight,
By the window one young man looked back and said,
I’ll see you there, there, there

As smoke filled my lungs I made one final call, to see if they could help us,

but as I tried to dial my mind it went all numb,
For the number of the fire dept and date were all in,
Nine one one one one one one ………


Adrian Murphy (c) 2oo2