By David Kosub (Contributor)

The following lines strive to remember where we were, how we felt, and what has happened since the Fort Totten metro train accident ten years ago. Though not meant as a singular story, this is more so a collective communal story woven together with memories shared from neighbors, news coverage, quotes from surviving family members, and a walk through Legacy Memorial Park.

June 22, 2009
Rush hour
Sitting on a red line train
Don’t remember how long it took me to get home
Don’t remember the alternate route I took
I do remember the delay
and wondering why is this happening
I just wanted to come home from work

When above ground and with access to the radio
I was  like, “Oh my”
That’s when I heard the commotion about the crash
And also Feeling selfish for those earlier thoughts

Curiosity leading me to the FIRE-EMS staging area
Realizing how bad the accident was
Just imagine being on the scene and imagine what you may have witnessed

Doolittle, DuBose, and Fernandez
Hawkins, King, and McMillan
Wherley, Wherley, and Williams
Nine lives lost
Many others injured

Looking back
Being grateful to be alive and prayerful for the victims
 “I miss my mom. I miss her laugh”
“Cuz I’m [now] at a place of healing. A place of accepting”
“This is our national capitol, people should feel safe to get on metro”

Every day, we can commemorate this tragedy
Through a plaque on a metro station pillar  
We recognize “those whole lives that were forever changed”
And also understand what the first responders experienced
Coming to “our aid in our time of greatest need”

Through a nearby memorial park
While ringing with the sound of children playing
Mere steps from where a community grows together
We are also encouraged to meditate, remember, reflect, and hope

Words are found etched in stone
“The space inhabits the hearts of nine uncommon Souls.
They were put here to leave eternal love.
In stillness…embrace love, peace, courage, and strength.”