Assignment 10

Flight 93

S.J. Fehr

Serene September skies of azure blue,
Edged with the shimmering haze
Of brilliant autumn days.


Unstained by heavy hovering clouds of fear,
— Till blazing from afar —
The craft fell like a star.


So war began — and heroes gave their all
And, with no shell or gun,
So was the first fight won.


So foiled evil men of ill design,
And countless others saved
By those who bravely gave.


In Flanders field, the poppies guard
The heroes row on row;
But here — it is not so.


Here heroes scattered sleep
Amid the grasses deep,
Where bright leaves careless lie
‘Neath blue September skies.

© September 2003

This poem was inspired by a visit to the Shanksville, Pennsylvania Flight 93 crash site and memorial.
The visit was in September, two years after the horrific tragedy that occurred there.

I was moved by the serenity of the site in contrast with the raw emotion and grief displayed by those visiting and by the memorials left there. The waving grasses had covered the gashes in the earth, but the scars still remained in the hearts of those who were there.

It was the first time I had heard the untold story of the Flight 93 Bible; it was told to us by the volunteers at the site.   Click here to read about it: