Jumpers

September 11, 2001, i was in third grade and this is all i remember from that day.

…and all I remember are the jumpers
reasons for tears
Start
But don’t stop shedding
Start from the eyes and landing in your hands
Still holding more meaning than weight
I was in third grade
When it happened
Teachers head hit the desk
Tears creating more silence
Than school discipline ever did
But we didn’t know what happened
You can’t cry for something you don’t understand
You can’t feel something you can’t put into words

Images, videos, interviews
Replaying the collapse simultaneously
Replaying tragedy, without hesitation
.but the jumpers
Coming home and turning on the tv
The jumpers
That’s what they called them
Leaning out the windows
Probably crying
Probably praying
But inevitably jumping
Falling, as if the life inside of them had already escaped
Only in third grade
Wishing I knew then what I know now
But only the image of her face pushed
Against the desk, praying while tears shed
Now sit in my memory
…and than I go back to drawing on the chalk board