It's the end of May and while contemplating summertime bliss, an unexpected, horrific event headlines the news and cuts across social media. Unbelievable scenes flash across the screen sending shockwaves across America. I break my train of thought regarding the design of a Poetryliscious Gallery and a writing challenge for the end of May from the Poetry Sisters to stare in disbelief at what I see and hear. Sheer sadness fills my space. The thread of life spun so beautifully within the lives of nineteen innocent children is cut in a cruel act of hate. The small community of Uvalde, Texas becomes a worldwide focus, a sign that hate crimes are still looming, even after
Writing is a healer. "The mechanics of putting pen to paper to tell our story can bring immense relief. A powerful outlet for difficult emotions, the physical act of taking what’s inside us, and transferring it to paper, can help us make meaning of situations and help us cope..." (The Healing Power of Writing)
And so I write to make sense of the Uvalde tragedy using the invitation of the Poetry Sisters to write a poem with the theme of string, thread, rope or chain.
End-of-school momentum,
a day filled with anticipation,
summertime looming,
ice cream and floating balloons
tied with string -
It should have been all of that,
yet, the echo of a rifle's reverberation
silenced childhood joy.
On Tuesday, chaos exploded
in the small community of Uvalde, Texas.
It crisscrossed classrooms.
Shockwaves of disbelief
spread like wildfire.
Law enforcers converged
on school property
hoping to ward off
a deranged young man
armed to shoot an elementary school.
Memories of Sandy Hook flashed.
The uncertainty of life
became a reiterated reality.
Within minutes,
nineteen little angels
floated to heaven.
Shots of hate
ended their thread of life.
©CVarsalona,2022
J.R.R. Tolkien's questions may be one pondered by the parents of the Robb Elementary School slaughtred children. "How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep...that have taken hold."
Hate is infectious. It breaks the threads that hold us together. It is a major threat to humankind that we need to reckon with.
The Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted this week by school librarian/poet, Linda Mitchell. She is writing from her heart about the horrific news of Uvalde, Texas. Join me there for more poetry goodness.
