Because no one owns 9-11

Because the U.S. is not the center of the universe

Because of my hijas

Because remembering is more than just a rehashing of the events of one day it is attempting to understand how we got to that day.

Because poetry can save us

September Song

The melody is in the falling to the ground
in between the changing of the fertile ripe green
into shades of death
between two seasons
royal gold
and blood red.

The background beat is
the tick tick tocking sound
of heartbeat bombs
inside weapon of mass destruction wombs
of women between nations
moaning and mourning in between languages
as in between children
break into this world
from between their legs.

The melody is composed
of the engine whirr of planes
flying overhead
in two separate hemispheres
on two separate continents
in two separate countries
joined at the root by the same politics
on the same day
28 years apart.

The aftermath is a chorus cry
for the disappeared and the dead
it repeats numerous times
translating
transforming into prayer and protest
in Spanish
in English
in Mapudungun
in Farsi
in Arabic
all sounding eerily alike.

And in an in-between nation
with an in-between status
the song plays like an FBI ambush
with a bridge leading to a murdered leader
spilling blood
red.

The melody is in the falling to the ground in between the changing
of the fertile ripe green
into shades of dying
the colored rhythm of a season
between two seasons.

by Maegan la Mamita Mala Ortiz 2006