Surviving the Aftermath

And here we sit, in a smoky corner, huddled against our own knees, knees meant for prayer, waiting for help, wanting to help, uncrossed, listening to urgencies in the long, dark silences. Unexpected only minutes before, the world collapsed in blood, steel, flesh, and concrete, and the dust of hope itself rises now, restless. Restoration-and redemption-lost, drifting. Darkness will not enter us quickly enough, the long night of dreams so easily forgotten, waiting for others to emerge from the smoke, and, restless, we regret every shallow breath. We lived with death, and we did not know it, and now we sit in the blood of our prayers.

September 15, 2001

JAMES DAVID JONES*

* James David Jones is managing editor of Sewanee Theological Review, published by The School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Copyright Anglican Theological Review, Inc. Winter 2002
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