Phil Zwickler Memorial Poetry Page Archives
Featured Poem - September/October 1999

9-11 POEM: WE CAN MASTER DISASTER

9-11 and the Gulf Coast.
Who has suffered the most?
My reply is:
We can master disaster!
We can master disaster!
We can master disaster!
Don't let disaster be your master!
We buried our dead; it's time to move ahead.
We have to be strong and move on.
Land of the free, home of the brave.
It's time to stop crying at the grave.
We buried our dead; it's time to move ahead.
We have to be strong and carry on.
We can master disaster!
We can master disaster!
We can master disaster!
Don't let disaster be your master!

Luther Jarman
About the Poet

"Last year, around the fifth anniversary of 9-11, a friend asked me if I was going to write a poem about it and I thought that was a good idea—a way I could make a contribution. I wrote the poem around the same time as Hurricane Katrina hit. I wanted to write something motivational—something about picking up the pieces and starting over again even after a tremendous disaster. The poem is a rallying call to build up morale and say, ‘Rebuild and go on with life, even though this tragedy happened.'

"ASC's Creative Writing Workshop is a great class where people suffering from HIV, AIDS, and homelessness can express their creativity. A poet is a poet whether he's homeless on the street or has mental problems. The workshop is a great place to express yourself poetically. I'm proud to be part of it."

—Luther Jarman

Luther Jarman has participated in ASC's Creative Writing Workshop since 2004. His poetry has appeared in several issues of ASC’s literary magazine, Situations, including the recently published tenth issue.

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