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Rabbi Barry Cytron (2001) related the recent catastrophe to the largest story ever told - in the form of the longest poem ever written - the scriptures. He cited the story of Job. Job's family was destroyed when he looked back to the city in ruin. Rabbi Cytron said that the tragedy revealed to Job that he was vulnerable ("ashes to ashes, dust to dust"). After he lost his family and community, Job devoted himself to those in need.
Upon reading this story, Sumyyah suggested that a catastrophe may cause you or your children to rethink career decisions. Jobs that once seemed important may no longer seem to be so. Sumyyah said:
Many teenagers, and young adults in America are now wondering will I be able to pursue the career I have chosen? What does the future mean? Will I have to face the draft? Will I now design war weapons, as opposed to computer games? How do I really feel about war?
These issues and fears are very real uncertainties that we face. At each stage of our children's development (toddlers going for an exploratory walk in the park, young children off to pre-school or kindergarten, young adults exploring the world of work or off to college, getting married, relocating), our feelings of loss may surface. On the plane ride home from a career conference, I dreamed of my daughter's favorite tree. As I contemplated her impending move across the country to go to college, I wrote a poem about her favorite tree.
Children who went to schools within blocks from the World Trade Center wrote poetry to describe their feelings about the catastrophe. Sapier Jamie Behr (2001), Grade 5, composed this poem:
My heart racing,
Tears in my eyes,
Sirens yelling in my ear,
I felt it.
Fear in me,
Friends in my arms,
More tears from each of us coming.
I knew it.
I'm sharing.
I hear nothing,
My world got shut down,
I saw it.
Sadness came a hold of us,
Terrified was I,
But good things will blossom out of this,
I know it.
Behr, 2001
The suicide missions profoundly affected adolescents and young adults. Growing up with busy working parents in a fast-moving world, young people may already have felt alone, without clear goals for the future. For our youth to establish a sense of identity, they need to be heard. Poetry open mikes are a fast-growing trend among young people. This past summer, I attended, with my daughter and 300 other young people, the first Asian youth poetry open mike performance on the West Coast (the first Asian youth performers are in New York). I was inspired by the support the performers (many of whom had never recited poetry before an audience) and the listeners gave each other. The lyrics were angry and searching as these young poets talked about the challenges of multiculturalism, abuse, violence, society, the world of work, and the information age. However, there was a noticeable absence among these young poets of physical violence, drugs, and other behavior that can cause damage to oneself and others.
Poetry slams, the competitive art of performance poetry, are also growing in popularity, especially among urban youth. Established in the mid-80s to increase public interest in poetry readings, slam is now an international art form. For information on California adult poetry slams, view: http://www.poetryslam.com/modules.php?name=Venues&mode=list&state=CA. Learn about youth poetry slams by viewing http://www.nocommentweb.com/natlslam.html. and Bay area youth poetry slams by viewing http://www.youthspeaks.org. Youth Speaks brings young people together across community, school, and neighborhood lines through the written and spoken word. A nonprofit resource for young writers in the San Francisco Bay Area and all five boroughs of New York City, it offers free after-school writing workshops. Another form of poetry is song. Inspirational lyrics to help viewers cope with fear were expressed on a September 21 television special "America - A Tribute to Heroes." When my daughter and her friends were in junior high and high school, they would write down all the words of their favorite songs and memorize them. Now I understand why. Repeating the lyrics over and over again imprints them in one's mind. I was especially struck by the following words sung in this television special:
"None but ourselves can free our mind." "There's a hero if you look inside your heart." You can find love if you search inside yourself and the emptiness inside will disappear." "American's greatest enemy is hate itself. Judging people by the way they look is not enough." "I'm on your side when times get rough and friends just can't be found. Like a bridge over troubled waters I will lay me down"
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