Two giants looming present although gone,

Cast shadows longer than their shadows were.

They darken the horizon at the dawn

In our minds. One looks, still expecting there

To see the columns reaching to the sky

Above the bleak surrounding cityscape.

Still a collective emotional high

Grips our consciousness. We watch the tape

Again, again, yet trying to make sense

Of what was seen. The images remain

Stamped in our mind’s eye. Voices make us tense

And turn; we hear a strange mystic refrain,

The lost beg visitors: “Please don’t forget

The price we paid.” Their absence is our debt.