Blood Stained

A poem memorializing the deadly shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school on August 27, 2025.

Before first bell rang,  
morning light spilled through stained glass,  
coloring the chapel  
with soft reds and blues,  
a gentle hymn of hope,  
a promise of new beginnings.

Children, like small birds,  
flitted in and out,  
filled with dreams, 
their laughter brightening the air,   
each one a fragile wing-beat,  
unaware of shadows lurking,  
waiting to disrupt their flight.

Then, a sudden storm,  
cracks of thunder,  
a scattering of colored glass,
silencing invocations,
stealing innocence
from tender hearts
now in bloody slivers.

Within those sacred walls,  
where prayers once echoed,  
the air thickened,  
heavy with loss,  
as little bodies lie… still,  
their bright spirits,  
soaring into a sky  
no longer safe.

Outside, startled birds
unfurled wings against a gray dawn,  
unaware of the weight  
of what had happened;  
while inside,  
a silence settled deep,  
a chasm where laughter  
once danced freely.

Memories linger like ghosts,  
each smile now a shadow,  
each moment a reminder  
of how quickly joy can vanish,  
leaving behind an emptiness,  
a longing 
for what should have been,  
for those who soared,  
for innocence stolen,
for peace, lost.

Author's Note

Until there are gun laws with teeth in this country—such as those in Great Britain— our children will continue to be sacrificed on the altar of the 2nd Amendment.

Stephen King poignantly captured this sentiment in a tweet four years ago.

Nothing has changed since then.

On one side, we hear the hollow echoes of thoughts and prayers. On another, there's a chorus of hand-wringing and blame. As far as blame, let’s be clear: this is not about the mental health, sexual orientation, or gender identity of the shooter. (Interestingly, over the past decade, over 99.9% of mass shootings were perpetrated by individuals who do not identify as transgender.)

What we need is a collective demand for common-sense gun laws.

Imagine a world where mass shootings are nothing but a distant memory—a world where every child thrives in a safe learning environment, a world where we choose to protect our children over the right to own a weapon.

Isn't it time to make that vision a reality?

Upcoming…

• A poem of gratitude:

  In the Woods, 13 September 2025

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