I
She walked down the aisle
On her new husband's arm
Wearing a white organza wedding dress,
And carrying in her hand
A white handkerchief her husband had given her,
It had belonged to his late mother.
They emerged from the church
To a bright late summer morning.
Their wedding guests were cheering, applauding
And throwing white rice at them.
And she thought -- Life was perfect.
She had a husband who adored her
And whom she adored.
They were starting a new life together.
II
A week later, after her honeymoon,
She arrived at her desk,
In the World Trade Center's North Tower
86th floor.
She put her wedding pictures on her desk.
She placed the white handkerchief in her top desk drawer.
She got out her coffee cup
And went to get some coffee.
And she thought -- Life was wonderful.
She had a husband who loved her,
And she loved him.
They had started their life's journey together.
She imagined the life they would have.
House in the suburbs, children
And growing old together.
She was talking with her colleagues
In the coffee room
About her wedding
And the wonderful honeymoon they'd shared.
Suddenly, the building shook violently.
A loud explosion was heard.
The room went black
And a deathly chill ran down her spine.
She ran to her desk,
Picked up her phone
To call her husband.
The line was dead.
Frantically she picked up her cell phone,
She punched in the number for her home phone.
She sighed with relief,
When she heard it ringing on the other end.
Her husband answered the phone
After many rings.
He had just stepped out the door
On his way to work
When the phone rang.
"Honey," she said, "something has happened to the building.
I just want you to know, how much I love you,
I will love you always,
Even unto death and into eternity."
He felt a deathly chill settle into his heart,
As he heard her words.
He replied, "Honey, I'm coming to you,
Meet me across the street, I'll be there as quick as I can,
And you will be safe in my arms again."
Trying to keep the despair from his voice.
III
She picked up her wedding photos,
And placed them in her purse,
She opened up her top drawer,
And picked up the white handkerchief.
She walked, with confidence,
To the emergency exit.
Bolstered by her husband's words.
In the stairwell she could hear
The screams and cries emanating from the floors above her.
But this did not terrify her,
She was thinking only of
Laying eyes upon her husband again.
She walked down the stairs,
It seemed to her, for an eternity,
Pushing her way past the terrorized people.
Hoping each landing would be the last,
In this hellish nightmare.
Suddenly, the whole building shook, again,
And piles of debris
That looked like the white rice at her wedding
Fell upon her.
Her last conscious thought, was of her husband,
How much she loved him,
And would love him for all eternity.
A week later, a white handkerchief was found in the rubble.
A life snuffed out by jealous fanatics,
Intent upon destroying all that is good in this world.
IV
Her husband stood over her empty casket
At her gravesite, a white handkerchief
In his hand,
Thinking of the life and future they could have had together.
Copious tears running down his cheeks as he remembered
Her last words to him.
Thinking, how time now stretched into an eternity,
Until he could join her once again.
And wondering, what would possess
A group of people to take her life that way,
Unable to fathom their hatred of humanity,
The sickness of their minds
using the deaths of innocents
to forward their twisted cause.
He turned and walked away
From her empty grave,
Going to their empty house
And the loneliness of it all engulfed him.
[c] 2002 by Rosemary Winters Tracey
