September Sisters

Twin sisters, both alike in majesty,

In New Manhattan, where we set this scene,

From arid lands flocks an old enemy,

To scorch the earth of this, a western dream.

From fateful skies the fatal flights descend,

But none the wiser to their pending fate,

The man and child, to happy affairs tend,

Their future sealed beneath a veil of hate.

Through vacant city clouds, their path annulled,

Two silver eagles level out their wings,

And whilst the terror fills their gravely hulls,
No-one below can hear their deathly screams.

Two flying ships set course and sail together,
To meet their end this day in mid September.

In but a flash the metals mute the sound,
And decimates upon the towers' side;
Below, the thunder footfalls head to ground,
Above, two thousand souls are sealed inside.

The fires roar and billow out their clouds,
Their acrid plumes seal misery and death
And to the cornered guiltless they surround;
They watch them choke and breathe their final breath.

But many did not wish to suffer long
And desperate the man faced with his end,
A single step into the skies beyond
Then to the earth he rapidly descends.

And on the ground, no more was felt his pain,
Oh this, the most macabre September rain.

The panic now most widespread and complete,
As crying eyes stare helplessly above,
To watch the trapped wave hopeless little sheets,
And hear them beg for mercy in His love.

But fire angels cannot reach their goals,
As those two sisters fail against the flames,
For many heroes fall, release their souls
To save their fellow innocents this day.

For even the most steadfast cannot stand
In face of such destruction and despair,
These mighty towers buckle on the land
From flying deathblows dealt them from the air.

And when the crippled giants lost their fight,

September sisters crumbled out of sight.

Copyright © 2013 by Simon Austin

United Airlines Flight 175 moments from impact of the South Tower of the World Trade Center
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11th 2001 as a result of terrorist attacks on the U.S.

On September 11th 2001, at 8:46 a.m, five hijackers of the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center's North Tower, and at 9:03 a.m., another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. 

Within two hours, both towers were gone. 

These attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,606 people in the towers or on the ground. The victims included 147 aboard the two planes (from which there were no survivors). In the North Tower 1,355 people at or above the point of impact were trapped and died of smoke inhalation, fell or jumped from the tower to escape the smoke and flames, or were killed in the building's eventual collapse. The destruction of all three staircases in the tower when Flight 11 hit made it impossible for anyone above the impact zone to escape. In the South Tower, one stairwell was left intact after Flight 175 hit, allowing 14 people located on the floors of impact (including one man who saw the plane coming at him) and four more from the floors above to escape. 

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning towers, landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below. A total of 411 emergency workers died as they tried to rescue people and fight the fires. It was the deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the United States.

These were the deadliest attacks on U.S. soil in its history, surpassing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour of 1941. In total, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks on that day, and more than 90 countries lost citizens in the two towers of the World Trade Center.