GOD BLESS AMERICA

September 11, 2001

Overwhelmed, shocked and deeply saddened is how I feel today
for so many innocent people whose lives have been snuffed away.

Devastation, ruin, and waste pile so heavily upon the ground
as the search for bodies continues but so few now can be found.

Family, friends, and everyone in hope and desperation wait
to hear the saddened news of their loved ones' desperate fate.

For those who have not been stricken there is a chasm deep inside
that cuts upon the nations that reaches so vastly far and wide.

There are so many people who have fallen upon their knees
who pray to God for comfort for all those who grieve.

What prompts the heart to violence, to war, to terror, to hate?
The human heart must find its answer before it is too late.

For evil forces have hit our nation on a beautiful sunny day
crudely changing the course of history forever more I say.

Is war the only answer where more blood will be shed?
Will justice truly be avenged when so many more are dead?

I pray today for wisdom for those who lead our land
that God will truly bless them and help them understand.

As we rally together as a people for what is true and right
can war alone be the answer to end this bitter fight?

Time has a way of healing and as I pray for peace today
may GOD BLESS AMERICA as we go along our way!

Sister Rachel S. Anderson, CSC

Sisters of Holy Cross
377 Island Pond Road
Manchester, NH  03109

September 15, 2001