DEAR ABBY: "Double Victim in Indiana" compared the events of Sept. 11 to a rape. My daughter Kelly, who is 24, had the same feeling and wrote a poem expressing it. It was published in our local paper. I thought you might like to share it with your readers. -- SHEILA PHILLIPS, PROUD MOM, QUOGUE, N.Y.
DEAR SHEILA: You have every right to be proud. Your daughter's poem is a knockout, and I'm pleased to share it with my readers. Read on:
A BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY
by Kelly Phillips
Is it a bright, sunny day with freedom in the air
That fosters pure fright, forcing people to stare
Up in the sky and only to see
An epidemic of evil raping you and me?
Tell me, what is the beauty of a bright, sunny day
When hatred erupts in a toxic display
Of blood and bones, of steel and stones,
Of blackest black, of screams and moans?
And so I say, let it rain a relentless pour.
Let humanity find a way not to ignore
This shameful show of cowardice from the weak,
And return to the honor and the normalcy we seek.
Yes, let it rain.
Let the souls cry of those from wars past,
Free their tears from the sky.
Let them weep and cleanse us from such sordid dismay
So we may once again appreciate
A bright, sunny day.