Race for the Sky Richard Pearson Thomas

To the Towers Themselves (Anonymous)

They were never the favorites,

Not the Carmen Miranda Chrysler

Nor Rockefeller’s magic boxes

Nor the Empire, which I think would have killed us all if she fell.

They were the two young dumb guys,

Beer drinking

Downtown MBA’s

Swaggering across the skyline,

Not too bright.

Now that they are gone,

They are like young men

Lost at war,

Not having had their life yet,

Not having grown wise and softened with air and time.

They are lost like

Cannon fodder

Like farm boys throughout time

Stunned into death,

Not knowing what hit them

And beloved

By the weeping mothers left behind.

How My Life Has Changed (Hilary North)

I can no longer flirt with Lou.

I can no longer dance with Mayra.

I can no longer eat brownies with Suzanne Y.

I can no longer meet the deadline with Mark.

I can no longer talk to George about his daughter.

I can no longer drink coffee with Rich.

I can no longer make a good impression on Chris.

I can no longer smile at Paul L.

I can no longer confide in Lisa.

I can no longer work on a project with Donna R.

I can no longer get to know Yolanda.

I can no longer call the client with Nick.

I can no longer contribute to the book drive organized by Karen.

I can no longer hang out with Millie.

I can no longer give career advice to Suzanne P.

I can no longer laugh with Donna G.

I can no longer watch Mary Ellen cut through the bull.

I can no longer drink beer with Paul B.

I can no longer have a meeting with Dave W.

I can no longer leave a message with Andrea.

I can no longer gossip with Anna.

I can no longer run into Dave P. at the vending machine.

I can no longer call Steve about my computer.

I can no longer compliment Lorenzo.

I can no longer hear Herman’s voice.

I can no longer trade voice mails with Norman.

I can no longer ride the elevator with Barbara.

I can no longer say hello to Steven every morning.

I can no longer see the incredible view from the 103rd Floor of the South Tower.

I can no longer take my life for granted.

don’t look for me anymore (Alicia Vasquez)

don’t look for me anymore

it’s late and you are tired

your feet ache standing atop the ruins of our twins

day after day searching for a trace of me

don’t look for me anymore

your eyes are burning red

your hands cut bleeding sifting through rock

it’s my turn, I’m worried about you

watching as you sift through the ruins of what was

day after day in the soot and the rain

I ache in knowing you suffer my death

don’t look for me anymore

hold my children as I would

hold my sisters, hold my brothers

hold my children for me

since I can’t bring them up with the same

love you gave me

and I’ll rest assured

you’re watching my children

don’t look for me anymore

go home and rest…

At the River  (trad.) Aaron Copland

Shall we gather by the river, where bright angels feet have trod,

With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God.

Yes we’ll gather by the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river,

Gather with the saints by the river that flows by the throne of God.

 

Soon we’ll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease,

Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.

Yes we’ll gather by the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river,

Gather with the saints by the river that flows by the throne of God.

Songs of War Charles Ives

In Flanders Fields (John McCrae)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow;

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place;

And in the sky the larks still bravely singing fly,

Scarce heard amidst the guns below

We are the dead.

Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved,

And now we lie in Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe!

To you from falling hands we throw, we throw the torch.

Be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep though the poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

He is There! (Charles Ives)

Fifteen years ago today a little Yankee, little yankee boy

Marched beside his grandaddy in the decoration day parade

The village band would play those old war tunes, and the G.A.R. would shout,

“Hip Hip Hooray!” in the same old way, as it sounded on the old camp ground.

That boy has sailed o’er the ocean, he is there, he is there, he is there.

He’s fighting for the right, but when it comes to might,

He is there, he is there, he is there;  as the Allies beat up all the warlords!

He’ll be there, he’ll be there, and then the world will shout the Battle cry of Freedom

Tenting on a new camp ground.

Fifteen years ago today a little Yankee, with a German name

Heard the tale of “forty-eight” why his Grandaddy joined Uncle Sam,

His fathers fought that medieval stuff, and he will fight it now,

“Hip Hip Hooray” this is the day, when he’ll finish up that aged job.

That boy has sailed (etc.)

There’s a time in ev’ry life, when it’s do or die, and our yankee boy

Does his bit that we may live, in a world where all may have a “say.”

He’s conscious always of his country’s aim, which is Liberty for all,

“Hip Hip Hooray’ is all he’ll say, as he marches to the Flanders front.

That boy has sailed (etc.)

Tenting tonight, tenting on a new camp ground.

For it’s rally round the flag, boys, rally once again. Shouting the Battle cry of Freedom!

Tom Sails Away (Charles Ives) 

Scenes from my childhood are with me,

I’m in the lot behind our house upon the hill,

A spring day’s sun is setting,

Mother with Tom in her arms is coming towards the garden;

The lettuce rows are showing green.

Thinner grows the smoke o’er the town,

Stronger comes the breeze from the ridge,

‘Tis after six, the whistles have blown,

The milk train’s gone down the valley

Daddy is coming up the hill from the mill,

We run down the lane to meet him.

But today! In freedom’s cause Tom sailed away

For over there, over there, over there!

Scenes from my childhood are floating before my eyes.

How Could I Ever Know?(Marsha Norman) Lucy Simon

How could I know I would have to leave you?

How could I know I would hurt you so?

You were the one I was born to love.

Oh, how could I ever know?

How could I ever know?

 

How can I say to go on without me?

How, when I know you still need me so?

How can I say not to dream about me?

How could I ever know?

How could I ever know?

 

Forgive me, can you forgive me, and hold me in your heart?

And find some new way to love me, now that we’re apart.

 

How could I know I would never hold you,

Never again in this world, but oh!

Sure as you breathe, I am there inside you

How could I ever know?

How could I ever know?

New Words  (Maury Yeston)   Maury Yeston

Look up there, high above us

In a sky of blackest silk

See how round, like a cookie

See how white, as white as milk

Call it the moon, my son

Say “moon.”

Sounds like your spoon, my son

Can you say it?

New words today, say “moon.”

 

Near the moon, brightly turning,

See the shining sparks of light

Each one new, each one burning

Through the darkness of the night

We call them stars, my son

Say “stars.”

That one is Mars, my son

Can you say it?

New words today, say “stars.”

 

As they blink all around us

Playing starry-eyed games

Who would think it astounds us

Simply naming their names.

 

Turn your eyes from the skies now

Turn around and look at me

There’s a light in my eyes now

And a word for what you see

We call it love, my son

Say “love.”

So hard to say, my son

It gets harder.

New words today

We’ll learn to say

Learn “moon”

Learn “stars”

Learn “love.”

What more do I need?  (Stephen Sondheim)  Stephen Sondheim

Once I hated this city

Now it can’t get me down

Slushy, humid, and gritty –

What a pretty town!

What, thought I, could be duller

More depressing, less gay?

Now my favorite color is gray!

A wall of rain as it turns to sleet

The lack of sun on a one-way street

I love the grime all the time

And what more do I need?

My windowpane has a lovely view

An inch of sky, and a fly or two

Why, I can see half a tree

And what more do I need?

The dust is thick and it’s galling

It simply can’t be excused

In winter even the falling snow looks used.

My windowpane may not give much light

But I see you, so the view is bright

If I can love you, I’ll pay the dirt no heed

With your love, what more do I need?

Someone’s shouting for quiet,

Someone’s starting a brawl

Down the block there’s a riot

And I’ll buy it all.

Listen now, I’m ecstatic

Hold me close and be still

Hear the lovely pneumatic drill!

A subway train thunders through the Bronx

A taxicab on the corner honks

But I adore ev’ry roar

And what more do I need?

I hear a crane making street repairs

A two-ton child running wild upstairs

Steam pipes bang, sirens clang

And what more do I need?

The neighbors yell in the summer

The landlord yells in the fall

So loud I can’t hear the plumber pound the wall.

An aeroplane roars across the bay

But I can hear you as clear as day

You said you loved me above the sound and speed

With your love, what more do I need?

I never saw a moor (Emily Dickinson) Richard Pearson Thomas

I never saw a moor

I never saw the sea

Yet know I how the heather looks,

And what a wave must be.

 

I never spoke with God,

Nor visited in heaven,

Yet certain am I of the spot

As if the chart were given.