For John McAvoy, FDNY
His name and mine were one and same
His life was heroic, mine was tame.
We looked the same, but never met
I only knew him when he died, and yet,
Somehow we were related, I am sure,
Across a continent bloodlines endure.

It seems a shame it takes a death
To make us treasure every breath
Or crumbling towers to explain
How man can invent new forms of pain.
How can we honor this quiet hero
Or build a shrine to mark ground zero?

For me I'll honor him in a small way
By bearing his name til my last day.

John M McAvoy

Copyright ©2002 John M McAvoy



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