Lessons Learned

“A date which will live in infamy”

From FDR speech 

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, 

On the isle of Oahu, Hawaii

I am amazed at the difference

In the lessons learned

By different people

From one catastrophic event

Some look at 9/11

And see the lesson of fear

Some see the lesson of vigilance 

Other see the lesson of readiness

Some learned hated

While others merely added to theirs

Oh, I did see the danger of hatred

Even more so, the danger of a seething rage

Born of a seed of hurt, real or imagined

Planned or accidental, a seed left to germinate

I prefer the lessons I learned

In the midst of overwhelming fear

I learned the power of community 

In the growing ‘us against the world’ attitude

I learned the lesson of globalism

In the face of despair and dispiritedness

I felt the encouragement of the world

You can hold on to the hatred

I'll hold on to the hope

You can cling to the fear

I’ll still grasp at the courage

You can live in the angst

I will walk with serenity

You can look for the differences

I’ll look for our commonalities

I will hold the lessons I learned

In the faces of 9/11

© Ron Simpson Jr.

September 11, 2020