The Innocents

The Innocents

Michael Raucci
Middle School Science Teacher
December 16, 2012

A sunny morning in a New England town
Is breached by a shattered window
Inside a school - Children laugh, and play, and learn
As a Darkness enters through the window

26 will perish this day
26 Heroes
26 Futures, 26 Dreams, 26 Poets, 26 Screams
26 innocent lives extinguished

And to what end?
To continue the debate over guns?  Or mental health?
When will it end?
How will it end?

In the aftermath, we shed our tears
We consider how they lunged and ran and cowered and feared
We interview those who held them dear
Why had he chosen this window?

26 innocents that will never feel
26 families that will never heal
At their bedsides a nation kneels
And asks...Did he ever look through the window?

It seems there is too much to process
We ponder our lives and the meaning of death
The value of these lives we can't possibly assess
Why Them?  Why Now?  Why Here?

Was it the guns?  The man?
Some incarnate Demon?
Mental Illness gotten 'out of hand'?
Can we comprehend?

With heavy hearts we wipe our tears
Our leaders play upon our fears
Through the killer's eyes we dare to peer
Can we see in through the window?

And through the shattered glass we grieve
Why did the Innocence have to leave?
In time, we will again believe;...or deceive?
That we are safe behind the window.