Sitting at the desk in her home where she does much of her composing, Alice Shapiro will soon be reciting her poem "Remembrance," during Douglasville's annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. The event, to be held on Sept. 11, at 5 p.m., on Freedom Island, will commemorate the causalities and honor the heroic efforts of America's public service departments and the U.S. military. Shapiro, recently named the city's poet laureate, didn't have far to dig for the deep sentiments expressed in "Remembrance," having been born in the Bronx and lived most of her live in New York City. She moved to Georgia just six months before the attack.

Her poem reads in part,

"Spellbound, I became
a spectator in my own demise
as I and all around me

glued eyes to TV's instant replay
broadcast over and over and over.
That was then, ten years ago...

A calm and ordinary work day
interrupted
shattered...

We are a small
handful only
gathered here to cry.

Our collective sorrow
aimed at lifting victims
higher than the sky."

Editor's note: For Alice's rendition of "Remembrance," see the attached video.

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