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American, United

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The following poem was written by Suzanne Moses, an employee at American Airlines, who has given her permission to publish it here.

American, United

We’ve always done what we do best,
Up in the friendly skies.
And then one awful, fateful day
We’re taken by surprise
An unseen, unknown enemy
Attacking us in hate
And using what has made us proud
To destroy what’s made us great.

We watch in shock the scenes unfold
We watch in disbelief
We shake our heads, we wipe our eyes
Unspeakable, the grief
And through it all, while it unfolds
We cannot help but cry -
American, we cling together
United, we ask "Why?"

"Please, wake us from this nightmare"
It all seems so unreal
We force ourselves to carry on
In a new world, so surreal
Lean on each other for support
Lend others, a helping hand
American, our dedication
United, we will stand

We ask each other, "how they dare"
We cannot understand
We search for answers, search for meaning
No answer is at hand
Hate must not replace sorrow,
Of this we’re very sure
American, we bow our heads
United, we’ll endure

The unknown numbers, now with God
As angels, by His side
Must want for us to carry on
To not withdraw and hide
And so, it’s in their memory
That we will hold so long
American, we will stand tall
United, we’ll be strong

Dedicated to the employees of American Airlines and United Airlines. In memory of the victims of the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

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