I just had to post Rev. Josh Graves’ poem from this morning’s paper. I think he captures all our emotions. May God bless him as well as the families of those who were killed.
The Newtown, Conn., tragedy feels worse than 9-11
Portraits of slain students and teachers hang from a tree at a memorial in Newtown, Conn. / Craig Ruttle / Associated Press
Am I the only who feels like this
Worse than Virginia Tech
Worse than Columbine
I get lost in the stories
But the photos …
The photos are the worst
To know that those children died next to their teacher and classmates
With no protection, total vulnerability
Damages something in me
Brings out all my doubt, suspicion of God
Total cynicism toward humanity
I get really dark
The darkness comes in tidal waves
We don’t usually choose it
But it’s there — hovering, taunting, mocking
To steal the safety and smile of a child is more offensive than murdering God
To take the life of a child in such a violent manner is like murdering everyone else; 7 billion of us
Because something in all of us died that Friday
Whatever died might never return
It should not even be possible for something like this to happen
Yet it is all too possible
The photos do me in
If I was a drunk I’d drink — a lot
If I was an addict I’d smoke or sniff — a lot
But I’m not
And it just gets darker and darker
How do the parents ever live again?
How could they ever trust another person?
How could they ever put back the pieces?
Now, we come to the end of words
And we wait
in Silence
and Anger
and Total Confusion
The end of words, the worst place to be
But, the most honest
The only choice is really no choice at all
There are no words.
Josh Graves is the preaching minister for Otter Creek Church in Brentwood. He is author of “The Feast” (Leafwood, 2009) and “Heaven on Earth” (Abingdon Press, 2012). Read his blog at www.joshuagraves.com and follow him at @joshgraves.
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