To be the last

They never asked to be the last living person
to witness what happened, or maybe just visit
or see the Twin Towers in person, even if only from afar,
and perhaps would prefer to remain in the shadows,
away from the uninvited attention of politicians and the media,
but one day, there will be someone like that, for sure.

One day, even New Yorkers will think of 9/11
no more than we think of Verdun or the Somme,
and eventually, there will be only a handful of experts,
like with the Achaemenid destruction of Athens.

For now, while the scars are still fresh,
let’s try to avoid the mistakes of a hundred years ago.

Remember, the Great War was to be the last.