Falling

          This article was about a controversial photograph that was taken on 9/11 that was titled The Falling Man. Not only does it explain the photo with how it was taken, who took, it and why it brought up problems in the community, this article describes the events in excruciating detail. I wrote this poem to portray less of what was dealt with the controversy, and more of the descriptive imagery that Tom Junod provides in his article.

This is the poem:

Like an arrow in his last instances of life,
embracing the fate he has not chosen.
Inevitable death; a missile or spear.
Deciding to get on with it,
attaining his own end.
Unidentified- The Falling Man.

Jumping, to escape, to breathe once more.
From all four sides, from every floor.
Like parachutists, evenly spaced and forming an arc.
Plummeting, the force ripping
desperate fabric from desperate hands.
Landing on people below, instant death.

Tumbling bodies eerily silent,
those on the ground left screaming.
Woman wailing "God! Save their souls!"
Americans responding with acts of
heroism, generosity, and martyrdom.
An ending as unimaginable as it was unbearable.

          I included these specific details because they stood out from all the rest. All of these lines were striking to me when I read the article. I felt these words gave an accurate description of the events that occurred that day.

The Falling Man:
http://premium.esquire.com/the-falling-man