A Year Of Anniversaries

This year is a year of anniversaries, and I remember where I was, and what I was doing on each of them, when the news came through. The death of two famous people who had an effect on our lives and a diabolical act of terrorism one could never forget. That stunned nations around the world. Thirty years ago, the world was stunned by the passing of a king. The king of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Although his voice was silenced on a bathroom floor, he left with us all a legacy of his music that will live eternally. Ten years ago the world lost a Princess in a car crash in Paris. A Royal Princess of the likes no one had ever seen before, whose gentleness and kindness with everyone she met will always be remembered. She was Diana, Princess of Wales, but she was more than that, she was a Princess to the world. She reached out to the poor and rich alike. She was mourned by millions across every land. The legacy she left is to befriend everyone. Then six years ago, something happened. It drew together nations, who sometimes were at odds with one another, to defeat an enemy whose fingers stretched across many lands. Loved ones of many nations mourned when the twin towers crumbled to the ground in a diabolical act of terror. Planes were ordered out of the sky, and for days after as I remember I never saw a single bird fly. Silence drew a cloud around the world, on that day of infamy, 11 September 2001. Images flew around the world to television screens. Everyone looked in disbelief at the pictures that they saw. The unimaginable had happened. Terror had struck the corner stone of freedom with one almighty blow. The world was a sad place that day as many millions cried. Now the anniversaries have rolled around. Memories of what I was doing on those days, come to the forefront of my mind, of how I felt, where I was, when for a few minutes around the world time stood still in my life. So I ask as you finish this poem to take a minute of your time to remember all those who lost their lives and those who risked their lives to save people most didn’t know six years ago today.