To read the latest issue, click 'Issues by year' in the menu above

September Eleven, Two Thousand and One,
Was in more than one sense a bad day.
Ever since that date’s deeds of destruction were done,
Free expression has no place to play.

The Trade Center towers were hideous twins,
And time was when that truth was OK
To be spoken, but once 'war on terror' begins,
Certain things become risky to say.

Though a landmark be ever so lacking in charm,
There are protocols one must obey.
When the bad guys do some ghastly edifice harm,
That excrescence acquires cachet.

So the fame of the towers now stands where they fell,
And we’re all of us feigning dismay,
Though the less ugly skyline that outlived the knell
Is one happy result of that day.