When a baby is killed,
Hope is slaughtered.
It meets a bloody end,
Soaking into the seat of a car,
The concrete swallowing it up
And spitting it in the face of the family.
It is unnatural.
The earth revolts.
The weather becomes strange
And out of season
As if to reject the Devil's playground
The viral violence of men has transformed it into.
When a child is slain
The future is strangled
The community in a choke hold
Trying to understand the disappearance
Of possibility, of love, of new family
Of contributor, of potential...
The parents review a funeral program
Instead of a grade card.
The siblings stare at a casket
Instead of a go kart.
The classmates stare at an empty seat
Instead of a playmate
When innocence is crucified.
Grace is called into question
Who did this lamb save?
The prayer is strange, grieved.
The vision is tainted, dreams and
Aspirations mangled, forever changed.
When a little one's life is extinguished from wild fire.
The earth is singed, blackened, dark. The void is wide.
A small but important piece of the world is stolen.
There are no explanations, no words, no vengeance,
That can cure the heart or redeem the value
Of an irreplaceable light.
~ The saddest thing that I have ever witnessed is the funeral of a child whose life was taken by senseless violence. Today, that happened. This was an unnecessary event, something that could have been prevented. The parents should not know this pain. The city should not know this boy's name ... At least not this way.