May 25, 2022
Our flag slides down the silver pole
once again
stopping halfway
again
its trajectory now rooted in its memory.
This time it pauses and wavers
in remembrance of nineteen children
two school teachers
trapped and murdered in a classroom,
each crumbling one after another
onto the blood-stained floor.
I see their photos, smile after smile
on brown faces, white faces,
hopeful faces,
one child wears a t-shirt
“Difference maker” emblazoned
in white.
Gone, they are gone,
sacrificial lambs
placed upon the great red brass altar
of the American Gun,
copper, tin, and zinc bow down,
and all the priests
in royal garb and meaningless chant
surround it with their “rights”
and their endless hungry fear.
I go outside where my summer plants
have begun to bloom, and I prune them,
setting each loose blossom
to the wind
in prayer for children who will not
race in the sun.
© Rosemary McMahan
Spirit Reflections 
Oh my. How very beautiful and heart wrenching.
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Yes, the whole ordeal is heart wrenching. Thank you for reading and responding.
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This is very powerful, Rosemary. The images are haunting, as was the shooting. God rest their souls.I’m glad you wrote the poem but sorry you had to.Love,Liz
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Thanks, Liz. The poem is all I know to do today.
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Thank you for sharing this powerful and visceral poem today! Through reading it and speaking it, some of my own grief, sorrow, rage, and despair felt expressed…and
that was therapeutic. And that is such a service! May Divine Mother hold these families in her Infinite Heart 💜
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Thank you, Dianne, for sharing. Yes, may all that is sacred, holy, and full of grace embrace them all.
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