By Victor J. Papa
You stand so tall now, rising up, emerging discernibly.
But why appear so reticent?
Is it mournful memories of the perished?
Those sorrowfully wrenched from us.
Those ordinary souls, intending only an ordinary day, instead enduring a vile holocaust, or
Perhaps reticence is really reverence.
Peerless were those silver towers that so marked our famous city.
And within her walls beloved souls who suffered God-less, cowardly evil.
They, cherished in our hearts, they too stand tall, venerated and palpable in our memories.
Or perhaps reticence is really prudence.
Borne as you were from a nation’s great tragedy, you were conceived to embody a nation’s memory,
exemplifying honor and virtue.
You stand so tall now, rising up, emerging discernibly.
You are ascending, assuming your esteemed place among the luminaries.
You will soar, still higher among other noble, timeless pinnacles alongside you.
They shall adorn and shall still pierce the sky above the harbor’s river,
but obsequious beneath your heights and your shadow.
You are not reticent, nor do you appear vindictive.
Your graceful form, which eschews cold, piercing lines, poises a gentle presence.
You are not reticent, nor do you appear strident.
Your blue elegance conveys a humble triumph for a city to claim.
You rise so tall now. Robust! Prominent!
A serene recompense for a mournful city.
You will become eminent in history, exuding resilience and hope, a sure symbol of progress.
And a perpetual cenotaph of a great tragedy that once shook the world and broke our hearts.
You are a sapphire; graceful, tranquil, with a lovely robe to behold.
Your crown will pronounce you regal.
Victor J. Papa is a resident of Southbridge Towers located a few blocks from One World Trade Center.
