A terrible tragedy ...

It settles over the debris
Of the ruined towers
A black ominous cloud
A cloud of sorrow
A cloud of loss
A cloud of despair
Thick and gross
Black with death
And cold with tears
Of grief and regret

I have not seen
This black cloud before
Yet I'm sure
It has come to test us

Now that all the prayers
Have been prayed,
Now that all the sermons
Have been preached,
Now that all the songs
Have been sung

I wonder if we are strong
Enough to breathe it
And survive

Or if the carnage to come
Will be too high a price
To pay for having reaped
Beneath the shadows
Of this black cloud