poem of the day 09.17.10

sacred ground (mosque)

this is where it happened
this is sacred ground
this is where the glass and stone fell
and the bodies
this is a holy place
this is where people worked
this is violence
this is where we go to remember
this is somewhere we can’t forget
this is ground within the pulse
of the nation
this is ours and not yours
this is a place for heroes
this is where history split
this is where battle lines were drawn
this is an iconic spot
this is where they made a cross
out of twisted metal
this is where we went to pray
this is rebirth
this is where we’ll rise again
this place is america

i’m surprised we haven’t built
a shopping mall and a starbucks
on it yet.