For 25 Years
By The Rev. Stephanie Kendell, Written for the 25th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 on September 10, 2026.
For 25 years
We have held the grief
of dreams diverted.
Dreams left in towers, buildings, fields, and tear filed voice messages.
Dreams that smoldered and suffocated in the rubble.
Dreams known now only to God.
And we were expected to meet the new life
that continued our way.
For 25 years
The new days greeted us when all we wanted was to hear your hello once again. It’s hard to let the hope of newness lead, when we must move forward carrying the weight of such profound loss. And yet, 25 years of newness has come and you are still missed.
New love, new hope, new babies, new experiences, new languages, new neighbors, new understandings of a timeless God, new jobs, new expectations, new loss, new houses, new offices, new leaders, new fears, new insights, new heights, new flights, new sizes, new bodies, new excitement, new friends, new anticipation, new partners, new blooms, new years, and 25 years of new things that made us remember your laugh,
your smile,
your touch,
and miss your loving physical presence all over again.
For 25 years
We have lived for you
when we had hoped to live with you.
The twelve knew this type of grief.
We know it too.
In a million different new ways,
every time we see a sunrise
you would have loved.
For 25 years
You have been missed
in our hearts
and in our lives
but you have never been gone
from our Spirits
that are bound to each other
through intentional creation
and lasting love.
And that is the devastating comfort
our hearts have carried
with God
everyday.
For 25 years, I have remembered us
for the sake of us.
How we were
and who we were becoming.
We miss us and how we used to be.
And so for this new day,
25 years later
and for the 25 yet to come
We will never forget.
We are us.
New and remembered.
Connected and eternal.
For 25 years
and every day more.