[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27979-27980]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      ``THE MOMENT'' BY BEN STROK

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2001

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, a 20 year-old student at Hunter 
College in Manhattan, Ben Strok wrote this poem reflecting on the 
September 11th terrorist attacks. It was recently read at one of my 
town hall meetings in Holly Springs, Georgia, by my constituent, Becky 
Babcock. As we enter this holiday season, let us remember how 
invaluable life is and make the most of each and every moment.

                               The Moment

                             (By Ben Strok)

     The smoke rises,
     and the ashes fall
     on someone you know.
     Someone you have not recently told
     how dear they are to you.
     Your last chance,
     may have been a minute ago.
     Your last chance,
     might be one minute from now.
     One precious minute,
     one precious moment.
     What does that moment mean to you?
     I'll tell you what it means to me.
     That moment,
     this moment,
     right now,
     is all that matters.
     What good is the moment
     if it is not lived for?
     What is life,
     if it is not being relished
     for all that it is?
     It is not life,
     it is a wasted moment
     you will never recapture.
     It is an emotion,
     you will never again
     have the opportunity to express.
     It is a person
     you will never again

[[Page 27980]]

     be able to see,
     and hold,
     and tell them
     how much you love them.
     It is time,
     made up of endless moments,
     the only differentiating factor being
     how you lived
     from one to the next.

     

                          ____________________