Children Should Not Die Poem by Barry Middleton
Children Should Not Die
They are gone, families grieve,
the nation grieves the outrage.
The night is hushed as we recall
children laughing and dreaming.
The sound was a joyous noise,
the hope and energy of youth,
a sweet and ringing affirmation,
a comforting song for tomorrow.
Now the night is dark and silent,
their parents cannot hear them,
only mute tears know the music.
Children should not die like this!
Will America fail, or bless them,
not in some memorial or prayer,
but in a resolve beyond homage,
with the duty to act and protect?
~~~~~
For the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School 12-14-2012.
Yes, reading this for the first time in 2016, I can agree that we haven't done anything as of yet to address this violent act toward children and their teachers. Heartbreaking. Silent.
Unfortunately we may never see the problem of domestic terrorism in America address because it is so linked to the gun rights lobby. If Sandy Hook did not wake people up, I don't know what it will take.
So poignant. Death of children at the hands of senseless violence is so painful a thing that there are hardly words to condole. The night is dark and silent....only mute tears know the music...these lines aptly convey the tragedy of such happenings. Great work.
Thank you Nosheen. I especially like my second verse. I used to live near a schoolyard and I loved the sound of the children playing - The sound was a joyous noise, the hope and energy of youth, a sweet and ringing affirmation, a comforting song for tomorrow.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/20/2024 5:41:19 AM # 1.0.0.1119
In a different comment, you once wrote that it's difficult to understand grief unless you've experienced it yourself. Two nations share twin griefs, the mass murder of their children. The citizens are concerned, and can see very clearly what needs to be done. But we feel so helpless when government does nothing, or does too little, too late. I hope it was as cathartic for you, writing this, as it was for me to write mine. Thank you, Barry.
I am amazed and disgusted that over 5 years since the Sandy Hook massacre nothing whatever has been done to deal with gun violence in America. It makes me feel hopeless.