I was really moved by the poem “Photographs from September 11” by Wislawa Szymborska. I really like this poem for numerous reasons one of which was the way the author handled the memory of the people in that towers. He never said they had died he kind of left it up to the reader in the end. I also really liked the idea that this story was told in the first place. I feel any writing on this subject will be emotional and we could never pay enough respect to these victims. The author leaves the reader wondering what could have possibly been going on in this burning building that would make these people feel it was a better idea to jump. While reading this I found myself wondering what it would take to force me to jump out of a building and I just hope that in the end these people found peace. I find that I react to this poem because it explains a situation that seems unexplainable. How could this happen? Why? How did these people feel? What made them do this? All of these questions arise from the poem and the events that it is drawn from. Really the poem makes you think and even this long after September 11 I still feel as strongly as I did that day and feel most Americans would say they do too.
“Immigrants in Our Land” by Santiago Baca really moved me as well. I think as an Arizonan this poem has to hit hard. I have recently moved to Tucson and its seems this poem was written for this city. The issue with immigration these days seems very complex and I myself cannot form an opinion. I feel torn by my deep feeling of human rights and the right for all to pursue happiness in this country and my equal feelings about justice and fairness. I can’t imagine how the immigrants of Mexico deal with leaving their loved ones and running our borders in an attempt to have a better life. They are physically exhausted and emotionally devastated and often times when they arrive they are bused up and sent right back to a country they can’t live in. How can this be?? These are humans not matter where they come from. How can we as Americans turn our backs on them?? On the other hand the violence at the border is out of control. So something must be done. This author seems to understand the hurt an immigrant must feel and the confusion they must face. The opening line seems to say everything that you would need to know “We are born with dreams in our hearts, looking for better days ahead” (J Baca retrieved February 7th). This line is devastating to me as the poem goes on and you find the man in jail. How could anyone not be emotionally moved by this tough and trying story??
Here is a link to a site that has a lot of pictures of the attacks on September 11 that also moved me deeply.
http://256.com/gray/thoughts/2001/20010912/pictures/
