Visualize the adventures of Troubles—including never-before-seen images of 9/11— with this accompanying image gallery.
PART I
The nights before
The Lit Nights
your childhood was spent
wading through the muddy bogs
of contention and war, your
biggest care was staying
awake a bit longer
to play in the midnight sun.





PART II
You made the perfect pirate
All Hands on Deck
with your silver earring and winsome grin
but little did I know that you played
deckhand every day at work
ascending the George Washington Bridge
like a sailor climbing to the crow’s nest
before gaining your sea legs
on barrels high above the briny deep.











PART III
All you wanted was to find one person alive
Silver Lining
curled in a small corner of hope
where you could set down your soul
while you sifted through flesh and
bone in the clinging September ash.





























PART IV
My childhood was watching you
Paddy the Yank
rock the stage in a white leather jacket
wrist rolling a tipper over the thin skin of a Bodhrán
drumming melodies for twenty thousand ears.













PART V
The first day
Arm-Wrestling in 7-11
a young man dared call you old
you arm-wrestled him
until all of 7-11 was chanting your name.











None of these images may be shared, repurposed, or reproduced without the direct permission of Alexa O’Kane and/or Patrick O’Kane.