In Memoriam – 158 Dead and Rising

 Your music died, your sounds replaced

Ripping bullets, bombs, souls displaced

Sipping coffee, pouring wine, smiles arise

Interruptions blast, bodies fly, evil tries

To terrify, murder, to kill what they fear

Ignorance meets hubris, roughness near

False gods called, their minds destroyed

Military actions, distortions so deployed

Their toxicity spreads to those disgraced

Hopelessness and hate, truth misplaced

We pray for all those who perished today

Paris cried, we observed that deadly fray

Forgiveness struggles against eye for eye

 Can peace arise or upon violence to rely

Paris, know that our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers are with you tonight. We stand, side-by-side, by you in this troubled time. Brothers and sisters sharing family grief. Beirut, we feel your pain. Libya, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Palestine… we see your blood. We pray for you all.

     I’m Peter Dekom, and tonight I cried.