Raw

Crisp cool air
beckoned me,
as green leafy trees
and gurgling creek
drew me
in warm embrace.
Laughing,
my children ran downhill,
ever eager
to greet the water,
to breathe in
delicious scents,
to be free
and whole
and at peace.

Yet as we tarried,
the sky fell down.
Lives were torn asunder,
hearts were broken,
death and destruction
caught 298 by surprise.
Fields of flowers
now littered with bodies
and scrap metal.

And as we laughed
in dappled sunshine,
admiring the turquoise hue
of a beautiful dragonfly, 
military tanks moved in.
Already 247 had died.
But that wasn't enough.
Five more slain today --
infant, grandparent, child -- 
in the name of
endless retribution.
New ground offensive.
How much blood
still needs to be shed
for it to be enough?

Intelligent hope-filled girls
snatched from their school;
six-year-old raped
by those she should trust;
explosions in churches;
new terrorism
bringing deep fear
even to those whom
the world already fears;
sunk ferry;
lost airplane ...
on and on and on.

We skip along
the river's edge,
drinking deeply of life
and love
and each other.
But the world falls apart,
and my heart stops
in a silent cry.
How do I hold onto joy
in the face of so much
sorrow?