Latest Writing News!

Just because I don't post an update here very often doesn't mean that I'm not writing. That goes on no matter what happens, because writing is something I truly enjoy. Plus it takes me out of my real life, which at times gets far too real...

As I mentioned in the last blog post, back in March, we lost my mother. It was a surprise but not a shock, and while it still hangs heavy in my mind and on my heart, I've had to move on. I have people who need me and things I have to do, and I want to write. My mother grieved the loss of my dad and her former life for quite a long while after she moved in with us, but she did eventually settle down and make the most of what she had. I'd be a lesser person if I could not do the same.

Now that things have settled down, I am back to writing just about full time. I miss my mother and I do still spend time with family, but I really need to write. I'm not as necessary as a babysitter for the grandkids as I used to be so now my visits are mostly just that—visits. Since I have a couple more days a week to work at the computer, I've started some new projects and continued on some that were already in progress.

So here's what's been going on, writing-wise...

First of all, I am thrilled to announce the recent Airship 27 release of the 5th book in the Jezebel Johnston pirate series, JEZEBEL JOHNSTON: DANSEUSE!

The cover is by artist Ted Hammond, who won a Pulp Factory Award this year for Best Cover Art for the the 4th book in the series, JEZEBEL JOHNSTON: MOURNING STAR. Well deserved too, and as far as I'm concerned this is yet another potential winner. And then there's the interior illustrations, which are always done by in-house artist, set-up man, and all around good guy Rob Davis. Here's just a sample of what awaits:

This is the official Airship 27 press release for the book:

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS

Presents

JEZEBEL JOHNSTON – Vol 5 – DANSEUSE

Airship 27 Productions is proud to announce the release the fifth book in the Jezebel Johnston – Pirate Queen saga by Nancy Hansen.

Having sailed to the East African coast with French captains Ancel Thibodeaux, Le Tigre of the Mourning Star and One Eyed Jacques Chagall of the Danseuse, Jezebel Johnston sets about her new career as a spy. Dropped off at trading port in Bombay, it is her task to learn which merchant ships are soon to sail for open waters. She will then pass this invaluable information to the pirate captains.

But there are unexpected surprises in store with the reappearance of buccaneer Denis Blanchett. Though a capable seaman, Blanchett has a cruel streak is obsessed with making Jezebel his private property. Meanwhile Chagall doesn’t trust Jez and she begins to worry that his own greed will scuttle their intricate schemes before they can bear fruit.

Writer Nancy Hansen’s pirate saga of Jezebel Johnston is unlike anything on the market today and offers up thrills and spills on every page. This is the pirate life with all its dangers and romance as authentically depicting by a master storyteller.

Airship 27 Productions award winning Art Director Rob Davis both designed the book and provided the nine black and white interior illustrations, while this year’s Pulp Factory Award winning artist for Best Pulp Cover, Ted Hammond returns for his second gorgeous cover featuring the beautiful and deadly Jezebel Johnston.

So sign aboard now and get ready set sail once more for Jezebel Johnston, the queen of high adventure.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERTION!

Available now in paperback from Amazon and soon on Kindle!

(https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946183628?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860)

I might add that the Kindle version is now up and available on Amazon as well. You can also get the paperback on Barnes & Noble online, or even buy it as a PDF on the Airship 27 Hangar site (scroll down).

Anytime you're wondering what else I have to offer, check out my author page on Amazon.

Now, as for what I am currently working on...

First of all, I'm still writing the 6th book in the Jezebel Johnston series. No subtitle yet, but progress is being made and I'm almost at the 2/3 point. I had to rewrite a section—which slowed me up for a while—because I found new information I wanted to include. Writing for me is not strictly a linear progression, because while I don't skip around a lot, I do go back over previous sections when something like this comes up. I do my best to make this fiction series as historically accurate as possible but I also want it exciting so that it keeps the readers' interest. I started this book on December 30th of last year and I'm approaching 40,000 of the 60,000 word minimum that my publisher needs. Since all of the books in the JJ series have taken 9-11 months to complete, I'm pretty much on track. I've been focusing mostly on getting this one done, but I have worked on other projects off and on as well, because that keeps me fresh. If I fall off one horse, I get back on a different one and ride out again.

Yes I am still working on that Vagabond Bards tale I mentioned earlier, but I did set it aside for a while. That one of course will be going to publisher Pro Se, who have my imprint HANSEN'S WAY. I also have another completed book for them that I've been going to turn in for some time now, and just haven't gotten around to doing that yet. No worries, I will get that in soon!

I have yet another writing project going, something that I really can't talk openly about, except in very general terms. 

This started because now that I have a bit more writing time on my hands, I began going through old files. I recently took something out of mothballs with the intention of self-publishing it. I happened to mention online that I was working on something to be self-pubbed, and I was approached privately by a publisher who has worked with me and wanted to see what else I had. The thing had sat so long I figured nobody wanted it anyway! So I polished up part of it and sent it along. Long story shortened, it has a new home. A small part of it was previously published as the beginning of an ongoing serial feature, but it was hard to place because of the oddball length of the additional material I had and that the market for that sort of thing had changed. I was actually planning on cobbling it all together in a bigger book than what the small publishers can handle, but I did manage to sort of rein in the first two installments to the required novel size. Now I'm fiddling with the third and fourth parts, the last of which was basically a good start but had been abandoned for other easier to place tales.

That's as much as I can tell you about this, but it's something I pick away at on days when I need a break from pirates and my ongoing TERRAN WORLD fantasy series (of which I have 5 going) or the other couple of oddball series I do for Pro Se.

And yes, I still write for my town's newsletter. In fact after the passing of my mother I got a lovely, heartfelt message in a sympathy card from a reader who just felt compelled to write to me. While I can't share what I write in that column with the general public, it's about small town life and living in the country, or whatever else strikes my fancy at the time and fits the 'ambiance' of a small town monthly publication. Feedback has been pretty good and they've been able to expand the readership and sell more ads. I'm far from the only one writing for it—in fact author buddy Lee Houston Jr. does monthly book reviews based on what the local library has in stock. He too has been mentioned. This sort of writing is really a bus driver's holiday for us, but it's volunteer position we both enjoy. It's nice to know that people are reading it and have responded positively to what we do.

What I really need to write is a new bio for my publishers, and I suppose I'd better get to that pretty soon. Something about writing about myself seems to bring out my inner procrastinator. Hey, I'm not perfect, believe me! I'm just as flawed as the rest of us. Writing about the imaginary people who talk to me in my head is a heck of a lot more fun (and far more interesting to read) than trying to make myself seem fascinating. Like the Wizard of Oz, I am the little person behind the curtain and I prefer to let the stories I make do my talking. 

It was the above-mentioned sympathy card that really got me thinking about that, because the woman who wrote to me admitted that she felt daunted writing to an actual writer. Jeepers, I don't have that kind of celebrity status! 

Let me tell you how it really is.

I still dress in baggy old clothes that have seen their better days and I still have to scrub my own toilet. I'm not even close to supporting myself by writing. It's a skill like any other that you work at and try to perfect, and that you hope someday will be able to support you in your old age. Right now it pays for the dark chocolate I consume as an incentive to write, which I suppose is better than nothing.

Actually, dark chocolate is better than a whole lot of things! And writing is better for me than many things I could be doing if banging on a keyboard wasn't taking up so much of my time. Plus I enjoy it too. So it's win-win.

So that's the status of all things writing with me for now. I'm hoping to have some updates on other books waiting to be published in the not-too distant future. In the meantime, if you've got the time to waste and the incentive to read my daily drivel, you can also find me on Facebook or Twitter. What I post on either is mostly updates on whatever I'm working on or when something comes out, but I'm open to being friended or followed. Just please drop me a quick message so I know you're not a SPAM bot or some scurrilous person looking to hook up with some old broad in the US. I get enough of those offers as it is!

Until the next time,
~Nancy 

Can I Still Write?

That’s a question I recently had to answer for myself.

For a while now I’ve been what you would call an ‘empty-nester’, in that my children are raised and I live in an all adult household. You do things very differently when everyone you live with is over 55. The pace is far more relaxed and there is time to indulge in those creative endeavors you only had fleeting time for in the past. For me that’s writing, which is my #1 passion as well as a late life career choice, though I also love crochet, crafts, artwork, and really anything creative. With my current mobility issues I’ve had to give up gardening and walks in the woods and fields, but I have plenty to keep me busy. Writing normally will make up a good part of any day when I am home with no appointments or other pressing items on the agenda. But as much as I love what I do, the family has always come first with me, because otherwise, who or what are we living for?

Over the last 5 years or so, my mother has been battling Vascular Dementia. Anybody who has lived with a loved one who has one of these dreaded memory-robbing diseases knows that it takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to deal with the physical and mental challenges of the condition. I’m very fortunate to have a supportive family in that my 2 adult sons and daughter-in-law worked with me to keep my mother happy and comfortable in the home where she had lived for over 33 years—the home my boys grew up in, the home that is now theirs since 2011. The original plan was to relocate my mother to where I am living now, but that was before we got that diagnosis. That was when as a family we decided that the best thing for my mother was to leave her where she had familiar surroundings, in the midst of family. We were able to keep her there up until her recent death, and that’s something I’m very proud of.

I spent as much time with my mother as I could, several days most weeks. I’d been providing some daycare for my two youngest grandchildren for the past 5 years anyway; first part time on weekdays at my house for the little boy and then almost full time hours at their place once his baby sister came along. I didn’t mind because it allowed my married son and daughter-in-law to both work full time and gave my other son, who was running their household for them, somewhat of a break. While I was there, I kept an eye on my mother, making sure was eating well, that she got showered a couple times a week, and it gave me a chance to assess her general health and attitude. Working with babies, toddlers, and an elderly person who is memory impaired, you have to be on your toes, so no writing got done on those days. I did it willingly with no regrets because they are my family and they needed me, and I had an active role in their lives that needed to be filled. I am very close to my grandkids because of my regular presence in their lives, and I was there to see the changes in my mother first hand. I also often hosted one or all of them on the weekends at my place, and I took my mother to her doctor appointments so that I’d be there to answer any questions. I covered for my older son whenever he had an appointment of his own or just needed a getaway afternoon. I’d do it again in heartbeat.

There were a lot of ups and downs over those years, and sometimes the stress carried over after I got home. The days I devoted to family became non-writing days because it was hard to decompress and think at the same time. I learned to accept that and adjusted my home schedule accordingly, getting help with the housework and things like shopping, and giving up most of the editing I had been doing. Whenever I did have time to sit at the computer, I drastically cut back on much of my online time in checking email and surfing social networking sites to focus more completely on writing. We were doing home renovations for a couple years, which also made things interesting, as well as cutting into the budget. Between the family responsibilities that I faced, the money being spent to make our home easier to live in, and my own increasingly tough time just getting around, conventions and other venues to schmooze with people in the writing business and/or fans were out of the question. Other than regular doctor, dentist, and ophthalmology appointments and some very necessary eyes surgeries back in the spring of 2017, I put off dealing with any health issues that weren’t strictly necessary because I didn’t want to be tied down for any length of time in recovery. The family needed me, so I made myself available to them, writing whenever I could. I still averaged 2 small books and maybe a short story or novella every year.

Writing I found to be especially cathartic through those hectic and sometimes difficult years because it gave me a place to channel the big feelings, and something positive that took me out of my everyday life for a while. My focus was solely on what was going onto the page, in making it the best told story I could manage, and so it was like a mini-vacation. I immersed myself in it, and the everyday world of worries and woe went away for a while. When you’re done for the day, you have something to show for your time and effort, which is a real incentive to getting the fingers back pounding on the keyboard and the mind squarely into the tale the next time you get to sit down in front of that blinking cursor. There was a sense of urgency for me to make the most of every chance I had to write, so regular progress continued to be made. It was also a relief to be able to leave the things that would haunt my waking hours and interrupt my sleep at night behind me for at least a few hours. As before I used to garden to set aside the stress by surrounding myself with nature in its glory, I now write to do the same.

And now my mother is no longer with us. Most of what needed to be dealt with over her passing is done. With one young grandkid doing remarkably well in all-day kindergarten and the other starting school this coming August, they don’t need me involved on any regular basis. Other than going through my mother’s worldly possessions and deciding what to do with whatever is left, much more of my time will be my own again. There’s a sense of closure in it, for while I still spend plenty of time with family, it’s not at the same pace that it had. It’s like leaving a chunk of your life behind when you change jobs, retire, move away, get married or divorced. Those last few years were intense ones for me. Now I can turn my focus back on myself, and where I want my life to go, and what more I can do with myself.

There are things I must do; certainly now is the time to talk to doctors about the mobility issues I have or any further eye surgeries I might need to maintain my vision. I don’t have to plan my appointments around my baby & mom sitting schedules anymore, which makes my life far more simple. And I can write as often as I like, when I like. But the question remains… can I still actually write? Will it be with the same passion and determination I felt when writing was something I crammed in between the other demands on my time and energy?

Grieving is a process, it’s not something you do just until the funeral is over and the friends and relatives go home. In fact it becomes far more intense afterwards because now you are alone and everyone else has moved on to other concerns. Since I was the primary planner on this one, I had little time to write for the first couple weeks. I did manage to knock out a monthly town newsletter column, something I’ve also been doing over the past 5-plus years, but that wasn’t as hard. I had emotions to draw upon. We work a month ahead for lead time, and so I was in early April writing the May column, and May has Mother’s Day. So that’s what I wrote about, my first Mother’s Day without my mother and how strange it is/will be. The challenge after that was, could I go back to fiction writing?

I have a book that is completed and ready to be sent out to the publisher that I just have not been ready to deal with. I have another one in progress that I have maybe 1/3 written, the 6^th volume in an ongoing series of pirate novels that I’m very passionate about and so is the publisher. Doing something with either one at that point seemed to be an overwhelming project; one that I was just not ready to face. It’s not like me to put aside writing for other idle pursuits or to wallow in my own sadness, but I just could not work on either one. So I idled away any free time I had by hanging out online, looking at pictures, posting on the social networking sites, or just lurking in the background waiting to chat with someone. Talk seemed to be what I needed the most, not something to write about that had nothing to do with my current state of mind.

And that began to worry me. What if the magic went to the grave with my mother? I have not had what you would call a writer’s block in the past 9 years that I’ve been so intensely involved in getting my fiction into print. Somehow no matter what was going on in my life at the time, the dams always overflowed and the words still came. This… was not me.

Then I woke up early one morning about 2 weeks into my mother’s passing with a song stuck in my head that I just could not stop thinking about. It had very little to do with her, just a tune from the 70s that I’d long forgotten but now recalled, but the more I thought about it, the more it struck me as the perfect base for a Vagabond Bards tale. Now that was not a storyline I planned on revisiting this year, because I had finished a Vagabond Bards novel in a previous year that got turned in and has not yet seen print. But it was a writing idea, it was fiction that had nothing to do with losing my last parent, and I’ve learned enough as a writer to go with whatever the gut feeling is. So I found the song on Youtube, listened to it several times, read the lyrics, and sat down and began pounding out a story. Before you know it the words were coming again, and faster than my poor typing skills could get them out of my head and onto the page. In a short session I managed to get over 1100 words onto that page, and I’ve added to it since. Once those floodgates opened again, I was able to go back to the pirate novel and put over 1300 on that one the next day. I’ve added a little to that book since too, although it’s been harder with that one because as historical fiction it requires intense research to get the facts as correct as I can make them. But I have worked on that twice since getting back into writing, in between trips to get my mother’s things together for bringing to my house or to donate. So I have hope again that the writing will not stop.

Yes, I am giving myself time to grieve. I am a person who can mourn and still function, I can move on and still mourn, my mind can separate the overwhelming from the mundane and familiar. I’ve lived with my mother longer than I’ve lived with anyone else in my life up until this point, and yet we never quite got along very well. That doesn’t mean I don’t miss her. She meant a lot to my family too, she was the only babysitter my boys ever had, she was a simple person with a feisty, can-do attitude who made the best she could out of a life that was often filled with hardships and disappointments. The feeling of loss is still very raw for me, and the tears come easily and over the simplest things some times. That’s to be expected. But time is a good teacher and I know that while I am dealing with these deep and disturbing feelings, I have to go on living, for the family and for myself. Writing is a very large and important part of my life now, and to not be able to write is going to send me into a downward spiral into frustration and maybe even depression. I don’t want that happening!

So my advice is, whatever makes you smile, whatever gets you up in the morning to face the new day, just do it. Never mind what you could be doing or should be feeling; this is your life to live, so live it to the fullest. That’s what my mother did, every day until the end. She wasn’t always sunny or pleasant, she cried and got upset, and sometimes stomped off spitting mad or stood her ground and gave someone a verbal upbraiding. But she went on living, and so she made it to 85 in spite of being a mere 4’9” tall and somewhat frail, and all those years of having very little in the way of education, being unable to drive or handle finances, because she had no income or job prospects after losing my father—who was her only love and half her life. She became a widow at the young age of 49 and wound up living with that child she never quite felt comfortable with. Yet somewhere inside my mother realized she had to find a way to make it work for all of us, and so she did. She was passionate about being with family, of taking care of our home, our pets, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She rocked babies, planted flowers, raked the yard and fed the birds, hung and brought in laundry to be folded and put away. She fed the chickens, took out the garbage, the recycling, and compost; she vacuumed and washed dishes—just pitching in wherever she was needed. To me that shows me that if I wallow in my grief and stop writing, I’ll be less a person than she was, even though I have a better education and more prospects. So I will write damn it, because I still can, and I should. You do whatever makes you happy to be alive too, you hear me?

~NANCY

Check this out!

The Jezebel Johnston novel series gets some accolades and multiple shares from a group of nice folks who are members of a writers' blog. Click on the link below...

OUR AUTHOR GANG

I really appreciate the time and effort put into promoting these books, because I put a ton of work into each one, trying to make them as historically accurate as possible without losing the entertainment aspect. That's why we read fiction—to be entertained. It's really great to have my writing made even more public and to hopefully reach additional readers. Thanks so much to Ruth de Jauregui for setting this up for me, and for the many shares and kind comments it garnered from folks on the site.

While you're there, do take a quick look around the blog and see what others have been doing. Lots of talented writers in that group. 😃

In case you're wondering (Of course you are!), I'm currently hard at work on the 6th book in the Jezebel Johnston series. No title yet, but already over 11,000 words written, all since December 30th. The 5th book's manuscript was turned in to Airship 27 right around Thanksgiving, and I will update you all when I have more news about that.

And so onward goes the writing into 2019...
~NANCY

Where the heck have you been, Nancy?

Actually that is a pretty complex question. It has been over a year since I updated this poor, neglected blog. Not for lack of wanting to, I can reassure you, or because I've lost interest in writing—which I definitely have not. It's just that life keeps getting in the way, and the time I have to write has gradually shrunken to 3 days most weeks. I write on any Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday that I don't have appointments, and also any time on the weekend when I have a few hours free. On Mondays and Thursdays I still babysit the youngest grandchild, since her older brother is now in kindergarten, and I also help care for my mother. Besides that, I fill in whenever the family needs me to watch any of the above for a few hours or even an entire day if necessary.

So writing is still happening on this end, but I can see that I have to play catch-up on all releases I've had since the last post. There have been a few...

JEZEBEL JOHNSTON—MOURNING STAR came out on May 3rd of this year (2018) from Airship 27. This is the 4th book in the Jezebel Johnston series. This one has cover art by Ted Hammond and again Rob Davis did the interior illos. The series is far from over folks, I'm finishing up the 5th book now.

While we're talking about Jezebel Johnston, Airship 27 has shown a leap of faith in issuing the first four books of Jezebel Johnston stories in an omnibus edition, which just came out just recently, on October 23 (2018). Behold below, JEZEBEL JOHNSTON—BIRTH OF A BUCCANEER!

This is the very first omnibus that Airship 27 has ever released, and the second largest book they've ever put out, and I can tell you that makes me feel very proud. So if you have a hankering to read all 4 of the published novels in one sitting, this is the book you want.

What's really cool about this book is while that is a brand new cover by artist Kevin Johnson, on the back are all the original covers of the 4 novels that are included inside. Also it still contains all 36 original interior illustrations by Rob Davis. Think what an ideal holiday gift this would make for someone who loves swashbuckling pirates or any kind of action/adventure novel. As always this series is aimed at a somewhat mature audience (think PG13) because of the intense subject matter. I do a ton of research for these books and make them as historically accurate as possible without access to a Tardis or Time Machine. 😎

So what else have I got? Glad you asked!

Now backing up a bit again, on September 1st (2018), Pro Se Press  released THE DARK GLASS, which is the 4th book in the Greenwood Cycle fantasy series, which is included under my Hansen's Way imprint.

This continues the series started with FORTUNE'S PAWN. Cover art is by Cathy Crow. Besides being in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon.com, I understand that this one is available on LULU as a hardcover.

So you see, I did have a few books released this year. I just never got out here to blog about them. And I should because I work hard at this thing called writing. Plus it's also a nod to the publishers who have taken the time and effort to package my offerings so that you all can read them.

Now, as far as what I have going on... Well there are still some works in progress to talk about.

Fellow writer and all around good guy Lee Houston Jr. and I collaborated on another Companion Dragons Tale children's novel this year. That got turned in to Pro Se around the beginning of August. This one covers the early exploits of a little dragon named Kiri, and I will have more details about that on the COMPANION DRAGONS TALES blog when I get that updated. It will eventually be released by Pro Se, but they are already two books behind on the series, so I have no hard timetable.

Most of this year I have been trading off between working on both a new Jezebel Johnston pirate novel, and another book in the Greenwood Cycle. I started them both back in January, just a few weeks apart. Both are nearing completion. The pirate series takes longer because of the copious research involved, so I have been devoting two days a week to that alone. I find fantasy easier to write simply because I know the world I'm working in, so I'll likely finish that book first, even with only working on it one day a week most of the time. I definitely will have them both turned in to their respective publishers before the end of the year, though I was hoping to have them done by Thanksgiving. Titles for both books are DESTINY'S DECREE for the Greenwood Cycle fantasy, and Jezebel Johnston—Danseuse.

So what will I do after I finish this year's writing projects? 

Well, besides breathing a huge sigh of relief after they get sent to their respective publishers, then it's time to take a short break and enjoy family time at the holidays. But I will be thinking about what books and other written projects to tackle next year. In fact, I have already jotted down some notes about that, because at 61, with all I have going on, my brain holds onto random thoughts as readily as a sieve collects water. I've learned the hard way over the years, if you have a good idea, you'd better write it down. Now. Don't wait, you'll forget. In fact, I'd recommend that to anyone who is pressed for time but has some creative urge noodling around in the head. Write that sucker down and file it. Someday you'll be glad you did.

If you could see the amount of document files I have on my PC (and yes they are all backed up) you'd be astounded. I take writing seriously and I'm a stubborn packrat because I never toss out an idea that didn't work the first few times. Some of them are potential titles that speak to me of what would be in that book, some are sketchy pseudo outlines, and others are simply a couple sentences of a scene from a dream or something that inspired me. I have a lot of old story starts too that I am unashamed to cannibalize for new tales. So I am never at a total loss for what to do next and I seldom sit staring at a blinking cursor for more than a few minutes. When I sit down to write, something is going on that page, whether it's 50 words, 500, or 1500. Writing is more than just a creative endeavor, it's an attitude and a passion. I love what I do, and so I do it whenever I can. Even when things are tough, time is short, and the words just aren't coming, I will have something to report at the end of a session. Every book started with a sentence. Then you add another and another. There's no magic, you just have to grind away.

And at the end of the day, I can still sit with family, watch TV, and maybe crochet or something. Now not everybody has the luxury of writing from home rather than driving off to the 9-5 world of cubicles and time clocks. But you can grab a quick half hour and put a few sentences on a page. Or jot down some notes. That's truly all it takes.  😉👍

See you next time I have something to say,
~Nancy

Lest We Forget...

I wrote this poem on September 14th, 2001. I've posted it somewhere online every year since.
~NANCY

They Did Not Die In Vain

All humanity sighed

As souls left the earth

Lives taken swiftly

Unjustly so

They died not in vain

For tears and remorse

Wash clean the blood

On the crumpled edifices

Of steel and concrete

That makes civilization grand

But buildings do not define us

Within we are human

Warm and alive

Full of stories

Martyrs they became, oh yes

But so much more

Every last one

A living testament

To faith

Hope

Pride

Charity

Accomplishment

And the greatest force on earth

Love

We watched in horror

Over and over again

As the events were replayed

And reactions were given

Stunned looks

Terror in the streets

Angry oaths

Silent sobs

Open weeping

Our brethren were stoic

Or they cried and pleaded

They were dead heroes or victims

But they were all alive

Just moments before

Without any foreknowledge

Of their place in history

Etched on our minds

Engraved on our hearts

For eternity

I wept with them

The ones who died

The living left behind

The shattered hopes and dreams

Like the rubble in the streets

Made us all stop and think

That could be me!

I watched stunned

And vowed as did others

We will overcome this

We are one people

We are humane and caring

This cannot be!

Who dares challenge that right?

To live free and open lives

To send fear into our hearts

And sorrow of the most profound

For after all is said and done

Nevermore will we trust

With the heart of innocents

That we are safe and protected

In this womb of our building

In this fortress of our sovereignty

Will the swords of justice

Smite down the aggressors

And bring us peace and redress?

Or just a sense of revenge

I do not know

But I do know this

They died not in vain

Who gave their lives for freedom

And to help their fellow man

For as the tragedy struck

And lives hung in the balance

Or were snuffed out

I saw birds rise from the buildings

Sun on their wings

Angels of nature

Reminding me that there is a better place

Where there is no grief or pain

And no thoughts of war

May they live there forever

Those poor wretched souls

Till we join them again

And amid all the rubble

The twisted beams of steel and concrete

The dust and the fires

Papers fluttered to earth

A poignant reminder

We once lived and worked here

Do not forget us

We live on in your hearts

Forevermore

We did not die in vain

If the world becomes a better place

Because we once showed you

How to care about your brethren

And to value all you have

No matter how small it is

Or how rude and humble

Life is a gift