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At its heart, this poem seeks to illuminate the call of our collective humanity. The promise of a new beginning, inspiring a communal trust in the moral compass of an enlightened world. The poem calls on us to bridge our divides and revel in the possibilities of hope. Former First Lady Laura Bush had this poem sent to U.S. Embassies and honored at the 9/11 memorial luncheon each year.
Long after nightfall crawls beyond the Park Street pier,where the rain-drift of ash now tints the asphalt,and where the long rope of sunlightno longer swings from one tall wall to another,a moon rides up the light’s twin beamsto where the shore has called the memory to harbor,and while there are no lawns of campion or yarrow,no flowerings to root, no words to borrowback the breath of a city’s soft wind whistle,