Too Close to Home

A world, a country, a town

A world becomes less magic and more tragic

Less agile and more fragile

Ravage as a head-hungry savage far away does damage 

As the comedians have either gone away or led us astray

A Missouri community scorned and torn

Mourns and searches to be reborn,

And at home the children taken

Leaving all ages shaken feeling forsaken

Though we'd never met, these babes I won't forget

The one who was barely past bottling,coddling, toddling age

The ones who had reached driving, striving, thriving age

I'm not their father, one of their brothers, or even one of the others

I'm no one, but I feel stunned, and I can't run from the tears of our daughters and sons

Moms and Dads feel hapless, helpless

The peers received, disbelieved, and grieved

An impossible defense, this making sense of our abundance of laments

This outsider looks in, hears what has been, watches healing begin

So many sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers

Come together in the bleakest of weather and pray for forever

Bring them peace, help tears decrease, and unfairness cease

A bystander's request for the friends in distress 
Let abundant faith come and squelch the unrest 
Keep a community blessed, and let innocent souls rest.