I wish that I wouldn't have to keep thinking about and writing about all the pain that humans cause each other. Maybe you are tired of hearing about it. But we know that ignoring it doesn't heal us. So, here I am again, sharing my thoughts with you.

Once more, I cried at the end of a long, sad news day. Again, I found myself asking why. Why do people hurt others this way? Why do innocent people lose life and limb because someone has a personal agenda? Why? Why? Why? And I would venture to guess that you too were asking why. Perhaps you too cried. Or maybe you became angry. Maybe you wanted to hit something.

I don’t know why these men did what they did. Maybe they felt this nation had wronged them or their people or their religion in some way and they wanted to avenge that wrong. I can’t begin to understand their motives. But I also know that somehow, someway, understanding why they did what they did can give us insight into the darkness that plagues the human race. It’s easy to judge each other. It’s more difficult to look beyond, to look deeper, to plunge into the mysterious recesses of the human condition.

I began to write this poem a year or so ago. I put it away and came back to it recently. Now, it seems to resonate even more.

Before you read it, please understand that with poetry, as with all writing, the subject is not always clear-cut, black and white. There are grey areas and personal experience can color it differently. In this poem, I am speaking to something larger than just this one incident. There is more than meets the eye, so to speak.

Also understand that I do believe in justice. I believe people who commit acts of brutality must be held accountable for their actions. And I believe in the right to defend one’s family and home. You can extrapolate to the national level if you wish. However, I hope that we can approach justice rationally, with open minds and open hearts, not clouded by anger, hate, or prejudice. I hope that someday all nations, all people, can separate the acts of an angry, misguided individual from their family, their culture, their religion, their ethnicity and their country. Because hate and anger, like fire, can burn out of control, and leave us all in ashes.

Each side in war thinks they are in the right. And violence begets violence. And we can all get caught in a never-ending loop of revenge. When does it end? 

An infinite sea of pointing fingers,

so many nameless faces to blame.

As hearts die and tempers flare,

we hunt for those who cause the pain.

An eye for an eye is the rule.

A life for a life what we demand.

Retribution we claim our right-

casting stones with dirty hands.

Vengeance is our tyrant king,

no compassion in his boiling blood.

Hording resentment like precious jewels-

his anger guides our destructive flood

Waves of fury will drown them all,

no mercy will be shown.

There are no innocents to be spared-

forgiveness forgotten or never known.

Our self-righteousness consumes us,

a fire raging out of control.

War is always our answer,

punishment always our goal.

The battles will rage on and on,

inhumanity taking its toll.

We’ll die along with our enemies-

hatred poisoning our souls.

When empathy and understanding

have finally withered away-

when we lose our humanity,

this world will darken and decay.

We will have our vengeance,

And they will have theirs too.

We’ll be buried side by side-

And blinded justice will have her due.