New York is a stare-up city
I stand awed all over again
The tallest buildings jammed
A million odds-on calculated gambles
Of engineering and construction minds
Some scrape the sky
Some pierce it
I look up
They bend over me
Bow me backward with their might
Shape me with their power
I stand at the memorial
Stare down
Watch the water flow over black marble
Bend over more to see the bottom
Read as many names as possible
Touch as many as I can
Run my fingers over letters
People I will never know gone
Paper fell like confetti that day
Ash too
All that came down
Lives lived
Birthday cards
Bills to pay
The flutter of grocery lists
The float of love letters
The tack of sticky Post-It Notes
Lanning Lee 