2001/keyboard

A keyboard,
a Raggedy Ann doll,
a clock.
Two days I watched,
the first without interruption
except for what
biology required.
The second cleaning
house with the t.v.
on,
the only thing I
could concentrate
on.
Sick from watching,
my head swelling
from images,
firefighter #9468,
few people telling
the real truth,
of body parts
or if they did,
edited for our delicate
stomachs.
The doctor who siad
what you see on t.v.
is nothing to what
the devastation
is.
The man who saw
thirty to forty people
jump.
Two days I watched
bootleg footage
of freelancers who went
where they weren’t
supposed to go.
Long, slow close-ups –
all I could make out
a keyboard,
a Raggedy Ann,
a clock.

9/13/01