‘For Dayton and El Paso’ by James A. Tweedie The Society August 5, 2019 Beauty, Culture, News of Note, Poetry 5 Comments Two mass shootings took the lives of twenty-nine this afternoon. Fifty-one (at least) were injured, every life cut short too soon. Exiting a downtown bar or looking for a loaf of bread, Simply minding their own business only to be shot down, dead. How I wish I could ignore it, or pretend that all is well. For reality is painful when it’s touched and burned by hell. Evil is, I fear, a part of each and every human soul. Thankfully most of us keep such tendencies under control. But, when inhibitions fail to keep unbalanced minds unchecked, Madness, like a mushroom cloud, erupts and people’s lives are wrecked. While I sit, and grieve, and ponder what to do, or think, or say, Politicians use my grief to try and turn the polls their way. Robert Frost once wrote that there were “miles to go before I sleep.” ____For those whose miles were swept away ________Along with all the promises they had to keep; ____________For all that has been lost, ________________I grieve ____________________And weep. James A. Tweedie is a recently retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He likes to walk on the beach with his wife. He has written and self-published four novels and a collection of short stories. He has several hundred unpublished poems tucked away in drawers. NOTE: The Society considers this page, where your poetry resides, to be your residence as well, where you may invite family, friends, and others to visit. Feel free to treat this page as your home and remove anyone here who disrespects you. Simply send an email to mbryant@classicalpoets.org. Put “Remove Comment” in the subject line and list which comments you would like removed. The Society does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or comments and reserves the right to remove any comments to maintain the decorum of this website and the integrity of the Society. Please see our Comments Policy here. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 5 Responses James Sale August 5, 2019 Love the way you bring in Frost towards the ending of this poem, James – very moving and very powerful. Reply Leonard Dabydeen August 5, 2019 Heart-rending and soul-touching emotional poem, James. Love the line …”Madness, like a mushroom cloud, erupts and people’s lives are wrecked.” TFS. Reply C.B. Anderson August 5, 2019 Not bad at all, James, even if a bit bathetic. Of course, everything will be blamed on Donald Trump, because the Left is horrified by his many successes. Reply Damian Robin August 6, 2019 Movingly expressed, James. Amazing how tragedies bring out our nobility. The yang never far from the yin and vice versa. Reply Brenda Miller September 19, 2019 I love the meter. Powerful. Clear. Thank you. I encourage you to continue seeking publication. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
James Sale August 5, 2019 Love the way you bring in Frost towards the ending of this poem, James – very moving and very powerful. Reply
Leonard Dabydeen August 5, 2019 Heart-rending and soul-touching emotional poem, James. Love the line …”Madness, like a mushroom cloud, erupts and people’s lives are wrecked.” TFS. Reply
C.B. Anderson August 5, 2019 Not bad at all, James, even if a bit bathetic. Of course, everything will be blamed on Donald Trump, because the Left is horrified by his many successes. Reply
Damian Robin August 6, 2019 Movingly expressed, James. Amazing how tragedies bring out our nobility. The yang never far from the yin and vice versa. Reply
Brenda Miller September 19, 2019 I love the meter. Powerful. Clear. Thank you. I encourage you to continue seeking publication. Reply