Singing provides a place for grief to move
through the thousand thunderous memories
that flash in bits and pieces
pulsing pictures of your son’s short life—
toothy grins and tomato soup,
grass stained whisperings,
your spit smudging dirt
from his soft pink cheek.
Days count themselves empty
since children and teachers lay crumpled
in red pools of dying self
on December 14.
As the media dish moves beyond Sandy Hook,
singing pulses its balm through crowds
massing movement through hearts,
transforming pain through prayers
that carry messages of love.
Your voices move like a river carving channels
through the spirit of our land,
creating conduits for hope’s flowing grace.
Brenda Warren 2013
Francine and David Wheeler lost six year old Ben in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This piece is my response to an interview with Francine, David, and Peter Yarrow (from Peter, Paul and Mary) on Bill Moyer’s show, Moyers & Company. You can see the show in its entirety here. The video above is Francine Wheeler and Dar Williams singing Family. It makes me cry every time.
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Wonderful write, Brenda. Not an easy subject to write about with such grace. On the video, I am a huge fan of Dar. She is one of my favourites. I couldn’t watch it all the way through without crying.
Pamela
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Beautifully crafted..song is a magical way of delivering words..equally as precious as letters on paper..
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Touched me with this. Extraordinary fall short in praise. Thanks for this Brenda!
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“The red pools of dying self” is exactly how a parent feels when they lose a child. Sadly our society is becoming inured to tragedy. Somehow we must try to fight our way out of this mindset. Every word we write should be a rallying call for humanity. Thank you for your words.
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Brenda, first off, thanks for the Wordle. Did you ever get my “Brave New Wordle,” from Huxley?
I saw this Moyers special today, ironically, because I can still feel the sting of tears when the mom came out and sang that song with Dar. Also, the powerful witness of Peter Yarrow, still fighting the good activist fight with words, not violence. This is the heart of activism.
When will they ever learn? You really moved me with this poem, Brenda. Thanks again, and I hope more folks click on the link. It’s an extraordinary story… and a girl from my high school was the teacher who shielded those children. We knew her as Mary Greene, her maiden name.
Peace, Amy
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Brenda – beautiful poignant piece there. Yes we move on but the parents are still dealing with aftermath.
Days count themselves empty
since children and teachers lay crumpled
in red pools of dying self
on December 13.
just perfect
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This poem flowed like a river through my heart! Thank you for reminding us of this tragedy. It is something we can and should keep in the forefront to effect change! Thanks for sharing! My First Whirl
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“Singing provides a place for grief to move…” sits well with me. especially as i hum with my grief at times.
I was pulled by “toothy grins and tomato soup,”
And “grass stained whisperings”
I felt that child. I felt the pain. Your ode made me
feel the loss especially with your
later reference to six-year-old Ben lost in the
“massacre” at Sandy Hook.
Randy
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I feel I write a piece with the words, but you always make poetry. Moving.
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Brenda this is beautiful. I can’t imagine how one comes to terms with this type of grief.
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I salute your ability to put these feelings into words, and such poignant words. Blow wordlingL: this is poetry.
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So beautiful and heartwrenching. Lovely tribute that we don’t ever forget.
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I like your tribute here and hope this experience can indeed become a river of change. Thanks again for the words.
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This is my favorite part:
grass stained whisperings,
your spit smudging dirt
from his soft pink cheek
Who can’t picture this or remember doing it? I love having images like this to focus on rather than the atrocities happening in the world around us.
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We tend to forget the tragedies all too quickly and easily. Thank you for calling us to remember.
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A wonderfully amazing piece!
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Sad and tragic but the family coping their loss is heart wrenching!! Innocent lives are put down before they even venture out in the world to do their bit, this trend is so disturbing!!
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This is the best poem on that tragedy I have seen so far, Brenda. I’ll have to come back to view the video, though.
http://lkkolp.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/the-ultimate-revenge/
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Thank you, Laurie. I wanted the Wheeler’s message to be reflected in the piece. The strength they demonstrate sharing their grief inspired me.
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Hard enough to write about grief. Hard enough to write Occasional poetry. You also knocked the wordle out of the park.
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Thank you. With the backdrop of a sick dog, I was grieving in my own way yesterday. The entire video is worth watching, more than once. Francine and David Wheeler speak with eloquence and grace. They share their pain to work through grief, and hope to promote change.
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I read the piece on your dog. Excellent. Heart-tearing
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This is incredibly beautiful and well written. Grief moving through memories in song. I get it. The last stanza is perfect. It’s odd, but these words brought me to “grief” also, and I really wasn’t sure why.
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Oh, and the video. Wow. Crying.
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Yes, the video makes me cry every single time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Nan. I’ll be visiting your piece soon.
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A moving poem about one of the greatest tragedies in our country’s history. So many beautiful, poignant lines. I really liked “thousand thunderous memories.”
“Conduits for hope’s flowing grace” is an inspiring line. The pain etched in Francine’s face is heart-breaking.
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The show is worth watching. I’ve seen it twice in its entirety, and find myself watching both songs again and again. Powerful stuff. I’m glad you like the piece, Marianne. It started yesterday after my first view of the video. Then I watched it again and tweaked it, and then one more time through the first segment with Francine and Peter Yarrow. I’m cried out, but the beauty that brings tears is gripping in part because of where it springs from….if that makes sense.
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