September 11 Memorial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

 memorial, memorial plaque

In memory of

Lawrence Kim
Frederick Kuo, Jr.
Gary Lasko
Alan Linton
Norma Lang Steuerle
Jonathan Uman
Matthew D. Yarnell

in Remembrance

US, NOW

We move through heavy days,
wading through the river
of routine, carrying on,
because we must.

While evil shrinks to its dense
core, we grow into a family
of open hands. In every room,
we search for one to clasp,
one to kiss, embrace
of us.

We mourn. We bow our heads
to find our real voices,
to refuse the columns of names
and make each name its own list
of one.

Now we look over the flat lawns,
carefully tended, smooth as dreams
in which we survive one
more day.

We remember the earth
has been broken. We plant a tree.
Here it rises without a sound.
Here we stop
and listen.

By Jim Daniels, professor of English
Carnegie Mellon University
October 13, 2001

Written in remembrance of our distinguished alumni and friends lost on September 11, 2001