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Sandy Hook

Tell the Moms it didn't happen 
Tell the Dads it isn't so 
Pretty little roses blooming 
In the garden – row on row –
Pretty little blossoms folding 
Petals falling to the floor 
Falling into angels rising 
Sprouting wings on which to soar 

Smite the gunman at the trigger! 
Seize the madman at the gun! 
Little voices in the hallway 
Little faces in the sun 
Little feet upon the heavens 
With the morning just begun –

Strike the harp, and hold the fiddle
Let the bells peal out the tune 
Mournful as the lonely shepherd 
'Ere the clock is noon 
Mourning for his little flock 
Going home too soon

– And when the news had broken 
And gotten all abroad 
The stoutest of the stoutest hearts 
Could only weep aloud
For here the pact was broken 
For here the seal was lost 
For here the children were not spared 
The devil's holocaust 

And startled in his earthly robes 
His heart gone sudden cold 
Himself a witness to the siege 
Even God arose
And with a savage grace 
That moved without a sound 
Turned the barrel on itself 
And with the final round 
Emptied out the chamber
And smote the demon down –

Copyright © John Oldham

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Book: Reflection on the Important Things