connecticut feelings rolling thru

the facebook statuses, the twitter tweets, the instagram hashtags
the news articles, the interviews, the anchormen and women talking through a screen
the fear, the anger, the injustice
the tears, the small hands, the bodies

the blood

the lives, the lives saved, the lives taken
the screams, the shouts, the unheard
the last seconds, the slow breathing, the closing of eyes
the parents, the grandparents, the kids
the teachers, the students, the principals
age 5, age 5, age 6
age 5, age 6, age 5
barely enough to know what life is
barely old enough to read
barely old enough to breathe
barely old enough to run
barely old enough to fall in love
barely old enough to know what is evil
barely old enough
innocent, small, innocent
innocent, small, innocent
what were they thinking in the last seconds when he pointed a gun to their body
what were they feeling when they saw the gun
do they even know what a gun is?
do they even know the capacity of it's power and destruction?
did they know that they died?
did they know what death is
pink hat, blue scarf, jeans
rainboots, red shirt, fluffy jacket
blue eyes, brown eyes, black eyes
unsure of what is happening
classmates falling to the ground and never getting back up
classmates falling to the ground
classmates falling on the bright red ground

teachers
don't touch my kids
teachers
falling on the ground
principals
don't touch my school
falling on the ground
students
don't touch me
falling to the ground
shooter

falling to the ground


there are no words for the 40 who have no one to hold in their arms anymore
 to say goodnight and goodmorning to
 to say hello and goodbye to
to pack pb&j's and m&m cookies for
to see grow up, grow big, and head out the door
to hold a hand with
to take a walk in the park with
to eat ice cream with
to embrace in their arms
to be a parents to
to feel
to love

just
to love.
.
nothing else matters if they cannot love.

the aching of a nation
of our president, of connecticut
stumbling words, silent speeches
words would never be able to describe this anyway

the pictures
the news
the stories the stories
the voices the voices of the children of their parents

we cannot forget
we cannot forget next week
we must not forget
we must not
we must not