New York


Majid Naficy

Today
New York bent down
And wept
In the Atlantic waters.

She sustained a large wound
To her spine.

Then she remembered
The old wounds of her children
From the Netherlands and Ireland
From black Africa
From Poland and the Ukraine
And the oases  of the Holy Land.

No! She must rise again
And let the sun
Shine on her face
And her children
Hold hands
And come back to dance
Around her whirling skirt.

September 11, 2001

***