Construction of Twin Towers began
with groundbreaking ceremony
on August 5, 1966,
but the towers themselves
witnessed vertical construction in 1968 and 1969,
with the North Tower
topping out in December 1970
and the South Tower in July 1971
subsequently The World Trade Center complex,
including the Twin Towers,
officially opened for business on April 4, 1973
and located in Lower Manhattan, New York City
immediately demarcated a distinct silhouette
defined the core of The Big Apple

The thought of forever, never seemed so long-
until you said that’s how long
How long you will be gone
How long you would detest me
Or simply how long I’ll live without you there

A lifetime of missing you, one where you’re not there
As I’ll always miss our old laughs
And all the times you cared
The nights we spent together
Along with moments we shared

It’s not the same face that I wore in my youth.
The eyes have grown dim and I’m long in the tooth.
My smile seems the same, and though voice is still deep
down lines made by laughter run tears that I weep.

I'm not the same man who was carefree and cool,
I fret and I frequently feel like a fool.
My kids come along to conspire and collude,
to snigger at Dad when he calls out, ‘Hey, dude!’

as if being a crash test dummy survivor
after a led zeppelin collided with yours truly,
a foo fighting beastie boy (George) talking head
found me in a comatose state
subsequently wishing I joined the grateful dead
upon suffering severe godsmack,
but thankfully rescued courtesy barenaked lady.

Weeks and months later
following intense physical therapy
being released from intensive care
and just on the cusp of resuming
I received my walking papers
as chief garbage taster,
which found me down in the dumps.

Give me a heart that feels the melancholy
of castoff things in a downpour.

One that’s weathered storms without rain,
and grieves for the brief lives of shooting stars.

Beneath an exterior lily white,
Anxiety's hidden, wrapped up tight.
With my hands deceptively still,
Whilst tummy rumbles like a drill.

A constant earthquake, cloaked in fear,
Seeking to make hope disappear.
Yet summer sunshine's on my skin,
Battling worries, so they wear thin.

Before the return of autumn gloom,
When darkness creeps, as if it's doom.
With days that feel oh too long,
Time seems like its all gone wrong.

Hot seat
Awaiting me
For the things I have done
A just punishment I deserve
Death Chair

Our love is a weak signal,
always cutting out when I need clarity.
You move the router of truth,
so I blame myself for the disconnect.

Gaslighting crackles like static in my ears,
you twist my words
until I can’t tell if I’m buffering or breaking.

I keep trying to repair what I never broke,
typing in passwords that never work,
refreshing, retrying,
begging for a bar of effort from you.

But the screen freezes,
the call drops,
I’m stuck in a loop
while you act like the line is clear

At seven they reckon you’re too old
for adoption. And I look on your head
so clinically tiny and lost within
that bicycle helmet, four years
behind in letters and numbers;
your inside out and backward dress
patterned with pie and snot and think
on all the words that you’ll forget
before the page is turned again,
on doors slammed shut and fingers bit,
the three-year-old strops your fists
can’t stop and spit now surely
that must count for something?

Any soul with half a mind
can recognize the proof!
Following a winding road
reliving the essence of youth.

Tangerine dreams
exposing half truths!
Given their sweet offering
they dance on the moon!

In event of a casualty,
with nothing to lose.
Finding your way back home
is all up to you.

Where do the shadows end
at the beginning of day?
Long nights, fought so hard
relieved with lights grace!