In mourning

for the tragic times we live in
for those who never got home
for those who lost their loved ones
for those whose bodies are injured,
(perhaps beyond repair)
for those whose beloved cities
have been desecrated
for livelihoods destroyed
breadwinners lost
orphaned families
bereft, shocked survivors
for innocence shattered yet again
for my children
who have grown up
in an era of escalating violence
the mourning cannot cease
and yet, inexorably,
life goes on.......