Nine Eleven (2001)

This was the year when grief moved in
And left our lodgings rearranged.
Nothing remained as it had been.
The furniture of our lives had changed.

No longer did we dare pretend
That hospitality could not fail,
That trust was mutual, friend to friend,
That human goodness would prevail.

The well from which we all must drink
Was poisoned, and the bitter taste
Clouded the streams of thoughts we think
And colored them with toxic waste.

Troubled and confused we turned
To other sources, deeper springs,
And in those soundings we discerned
More telling truths, more lasting things.

A loving God whom we believe
Will guide us home when we are lost,
A God who comforts those who grieve
And knows full well the dreadful cost.

A different future there will be
From all the times we've known so well.
This time, God with us, we will see
The meaning of Emmanuel.