She was but 6...

When I heard about the shooting on Friday, I was shocked and then scared...I am the mother of a 6 year old, a first grader and I can't bear to imagine the anguish, gut wrenching pain and emptiness that the parents of these beautiful babies are going through...I hugged my son close the past two days, not letting him too far away from sight...

Innocence was lost on this day...

All  that was left with the parents was silence...

And the ricochet of bullets...

Birthdays lost, proms unattended...

Field trips, Impish Smiles and teen love no more...

Life crushed....life obliterated.

Yet the ones that live,

Left with an awareness so keen,

Unexplained violence,

Bloodshed and tears...

In temples, schools, malls, theaters...

I cannot tell my little boy -

Go play outside with your friends,

You are safe...watched over.

I hover over my little one, 

Anxious, Paranoid, Afraid....

When will I ever feel safe again...

Will I ever speak to my little boy of the ugliness?

Of those beautiful children lying bloody and mangled...

Victims of a sick, depraved and lost soul.

The words stick in my throat,

A reluctance to strip away more innocence...

All I am left with is - an image and a thought...

She was but 6....

Dedicated to Emilie and all the beautiful souls lost on Dec 14th....Say No to Violence !!!