Nashville Covenant Poems
These are poems for the victims of the Nashville Covenant School shootings.
Nashville Covenant Call to Love
by Michael R. Burch
Our hearts are broken today
for our children's small bodies lie broken;
let us gather them up, as we may,
that the truth of our Love may be spoken;
then, when we have put them away
to nevermore dream, or be woken,
let us think of the living, and pray
for true Love, not some miserable token,
to command us, for strength to obey.
For a Nashville Covenant Child, with Butterflies
by Michael R. Burch
Where does the butterfly go
when lightning rails, when thunder howls,
when hailstones scream while winter scowls
and nights compound dark frosts with snow?
Where does the butterfly go?
Where does the rose hide its bloom
when night descends oblique and chill
beyond the capacity of moonlight to fill?
When the only relief's a banked fire's glow,
where does the butterfly go?
And where shall the spirit flee
when life is harsh, too harsh to face,
and hope is lost without a trace?
Oh, when the light of life runs low,
where does the butterfly go?
Frail Envelope of Flesh
by Michael R. Burch
Frail envelope of flesh,
lying cold on the surgeon’s table
with anguished eyes
like your mother’s eyes
and a heartbeat weak, unstable...
Frail crucible of dust,
brief flower come to this—
your tiny hand
in your mother’s hand
for a last bewildered kiss...
Brief mayfly of a child,
to live nine artless years!
Now your mother’s lips
seal up your lips
from the Deluge of her tears...
Epitaph for a Slain Child
by Michael R. Burch
I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.
As springs’ budding blossoms emerge
the raptors glide mercilessly.
—Michael R. Burch
Childless
by Michael R. Burch
How can she bear her grief?
Mightier than Atlas, she shoulders the weight
Of one fallen star.
Shooting Gallery
by Michael R. Burch
If we live by the rule of the gun
what can a child do,
but run?
War
stood at the end of the hall
in the long shadows
—Watanabe Hakusen, translation by Michael R. Burch
Piercing the Shell
by Michael R. Burch
If we strip away all the accouterments of war,
perhaps we'll discover what the heart is for.
Grown darkly accustomed to grief,
will we ever turn over a new leaf?
-Michael R. Burch
Keywords/Tags: Nashville Covenant School, shooting, massacre, children, kids, students, child abuse, gun control, America, United States, USA, death, deaths, murder, serial murder, massacre, bereavement
Copyright © Michael Burch | Year Posted 2023
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