St. Vincent's Hospital ER, 9/11

We waited for the broken and the burned.
None of us knew if survivors would come.
We watched the newscast. Where else could we turn
When steel caught fire and the desperate jumped?

None of us knew if survivors would come.
The streets were torrents of sirens and smoke
When steel caught fire and the desperate jumped.
Civilians gave blood. We let ourselves hope.

The streets were torrents of sirens and smoke
Like images from a recurring dream.
Civilians gave blood. We tried hard to hope.
The video soundtrack didn't have screams.

With images from a recurring dream
We watched the newscast. Where else could we turn?
The video soundtrack didn't have screams.
We waited for the broken and the burned.