On whose shoulders?

By Sean Gunning

On whose shoulders
should we rest the blame
for fanning the ferocious flames
that scorched our shores twelve years ago
from sea to shining sea;
that further charred and scarred
a once so graceful Lady Liberty,
who saw her children incinerated…
splat dead about her burning feet…
and choke on ashen-rain?

She did as any mother would,
she flexed her blood-stained arms
for her children’s future safety’s sake.

But perhaps now
a return to grace
and stone-faced internal fortitude
might light the path ahead
and blemished virtue’s soul renew.

For, on whose shoulders should we stand
to breathe the most sacred air
preserved for you and me
in so much precious blood
spilled not so long ago,
if not Lady Liberty?