When Innocence Dies

(in honor of lives lost too soon)

There is no reason, or rhyme,

the next breath - hard to find,

broken, grasping our chests, with hard questions like, why?

Too young to face such big fears,

too old, when the days pass like years,

fighting, with unsuspecting soldiers, far from the front lines.

How can this be real,

how are we to heal,

a pain unintended for one so small and so frail?

Exposed to uncontrollable hate,

the grief and mental anguish too great,

to reconcile these wounds inside riddled souls.

Never again be the same,

rearranged by the pain,

what can we do to stop this senseless cycle?

No-one has the right words to say,

to make this ok,

and time, choking, like a chain of pressures, heavy.

When innocence dies,

we all pay a price,

our future now void of a hope snatched away.

One day at a time,

strength grows stronger inside

until the courage we needed, is found.

We must get up and breathe,

fill the holes yet unseen

as angels gather and wait to console, and bring peace.

There is nowhere to hide,

when goodness and evil collide,

the whole world feels the pain and we cry -

when innocence dies.