Ten years have passed since September 11 and I, as I’m sure many with me, hold vivid memories of that fatal day. It was the year I moved to the United States and lived in San Diego Bay, where a sailboat was my home.

“…Masts of surrounding boats sang their eerie songs that morning and the fog hushed my steps while I strolled over the docks. It was quiet and peaceful so early in the day until a voice pulled me out of my slumbers: “Did you hear?, I looked around but couldn’t put a face to the voice as it continued: “The Towers fell.” For a moment I didn’t know what was meant by “The Towers”. After all, I was still very new to this country. “The Towers fell?”, “Which Towers?”, I asked…”

It wasn’t only for the fact that I was new to the country that I reacted like that. I did know what was meant by The Towers, as I had spent some time in New York where I stayed at a friend’s barge, moored a short distance away from the World Trade Center. First thing every morning, I would walk over to The Towers to purchase a coffee and bagel at its downstairs cafe. My reaction was fueled by astonishment, disbelief and shock. How could anyone possibly belief something of that magnitude? Later that day I remember watching the news reports all over the marina. First at the local cafeteria and later in the cockpit of our boat while neighbors stopped by to share their feelings of shock…”

I would like to share one of my songs with all who have lost a friend or loved one during the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In Elegy for a Cherry Tree I reflect upon my own experiences with personal loss, and have created a garden where grief can rest.