September 11 | Poeticanet

HOME » POETS & POEMS » HRISTOV, IVAN See also

Print article

IVAN HRISTOV

SEPTEMBER 11

I vaguely remember that day.

I lifted up the receiver

and wanted to talk to you,

but you screamed:

War! World War

Three!

The first thing

I did

was look up at the sky.

I thought

the airplanes would come

from there.

I was in love

and wanted to talk to you

and was sorry

that world war had broken out

right at that moment.

Then I went into a restaurant.

I drank a beer and sat for a long time watching

the two towers collapsing.

I hardly knew anything

about that city.

As I child I drew

the Empire State Building,

but that love ended

like so many others

it faded,

and now I've wound up here

looking at New York

with Cousin Paul

from the fortieth floor.

Then we went

to Ground Zero.

An African-American woman

was still shouting:

"Look out!"

"Look out!"

even though

five years

had already passed.

People were eating lunch.

The city looked like a beast

with its heart ripped out.

Then we strolled

through Central Park,

I breathed the fresh air,

thought about John and Yoko

and suddenly saw

Christo's GATES.

My Lord,

Why did you lead me here

So young

Perhaps this city

Is the road to heaven?

Ivan Hristov

Translated by Angela Rodel