Fukushima by Magnetic North (and Taiyo Na)

- TAIYO -
i remember 9-11 how my city cried for heaven
how people perished no matter what style of reverence
i remember tribeca buildings falling all day
missing people everywhere all the years of mourning
what made it worse was our leaders '05 you could see it
with katrina they didn't feel it they were just greedy greedy
just like fukushima good bad made clearer
it's salt to the wound when your leaders just leave ya
but that's when the lion's roar that's when you fight for more
that's when you figure out there're things worth dying for
it's only when the days dark you discover brave hearts
i know a girl from haiti motherless who has the same heart
my heart goes out to each and every one of you
children of the future will be greater because of you
i don't write songs for the fortune or a buzz or two
i write for my people hope you feel me love for you

- CHORUS -
i'll cross a stormy river
dig the deepest tunnel
build a bridge over
any length to love you
i'll bear any fate
carry it double
however much the stretch
i'll go any length to you

- THERESA -
i don't even know the half only seen the photographs
reporters telling stories from the view inside their cul de sacs
so i sat eyes glued thinking of your loneliness
choking back the tears and blinking back condolences
a lowly gift cuz your world is rearranging
on the train sat beside a girl with paper cranes and
she feels so ashamed cuz she'd rather send a benjamin
but maybe hope's the better currency for this millennium
life is but a dream but a dream is all we hope for
like the light you cannot stifle shining behind closed doors
like the song you shouldn't sing you sing until your throat's sore
like the love that never dies though life itself is so short
and your beauty is resilience
holding on to nothing but the fact you will rebuild again
and I know you will rebuild my friend
we'll go to any length no distance is too significant

[CHORUS]

- DEREK -
rebuilding is a struggle i feel it you feeling crumbled
your spirit's still recovering conflicted with god above us
have we been punished why what justifies suffering nothing
i see no reason for people to lose their homes from right under
maybe it's mother nature's way of saying we need a change
crusades of war and terrorism synonyms of the same
so filled with hate in our veins and racist youtube tirades
still makes me sick hot 97 played the tune on the waves
but i can't sit here in shame just hoping and praying
this ain't no dream within a dream there ain't no totem to save 'em
it's as real as it gets when you realize death
cuz when you lose someone you truly redefine strength
so i'll utilize this pen
my arms don't reach across the seas but songs move any length
any length to love you
rest and peace to all the fallen your strength is eternal

Ground Zero Sum

An Old Old Story: Ground Zero Sum by An Old Old Story

[soundcloud link; via An Old Old Story; HT: Experimental Theology]

Twins and Towers at Ten

"It's been ten whole years already? Wow! Hard to believe." Many a father will say something like that while shaking his head in disbelief, when his oldest approaches the 10th birthday. It's a milestone, not just for the kid, but for the parents. It's a head-shaker because I am reminded that on that day, 10 years ago, my life changed forever. In some ways, it has passed very quickly. In other ways, it seems like it's been every bit of ten years. There are two distinct things, though, about the ten-year anniversary of my dadhood. The first is that I became a father of not one, but two little bundles of joy that Tuesday morning. Abby was born at 8:48, followed by her brother Jacob at 8:50. The second is that their birth marked some rare joy in the midst of the darkest day in our nation's history. As my wife was in labor, a nurse came in and told us that an airplane had crashed into a skyscraper in New York. I turned on the labor room TV in order to find out details. But a minute later, a painful contraction led to a gentle but firm request that I switch off the TV and hold her hand. (I'm not sure how my hand-holding could make contractions better, but I had seen enough sitcoms to know that when your wife is in labor, you should be as accommodating as you can.) So off went the TV, and the plane incident was completely gone from my mind as we went into the operating room. I scrubbed my hands, paying attention to instructions from the nurse to get the dirt that was under my fingernails. I watched as the anesthesiologist stuck a needle in Beth's back. A few minutes later, I held her hand while chatting with the the same anesthesiologist as the surgeon and nurses prepared for the Caesarian. Before long, the nurse tapped me on the shoulder to alert me to a beautiful sight. I think my heart stopped momentarily as I saw my crying little girl, Abby. Her cry was so sad, and I melted. Her brother came out crying, too, but his cry was an angry one, and I chuckled. I was told they checked out just fine, and everything was right with the world. As far as I knew. [continue]

[via James Williams]