“As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it,saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41”
As Luke remembered it, Jesus stopped,
and got off the donkey
looking at Washington, DC,
and wept bitter tears
for those he foresaw violently
gathered in resurrection,
and for those left with loss
of their children, parents, friends,
or their own ability to feel safe
anywhere in a crowd.
Each gun tragedy has been
big news and then nothing,
except the absence at the table,
in the classroom,
concert, parade,
around the dartboard,
for those who remember, whose grief
is as crucifying and unthinkable
as the pain and loss
of the man who stopped on the way,
and asked about the things
that make for peace,
which are never
more possession of guns.
Gifts in Open Hands 
“Except the absence” – those are three very powerful words. Thank you, Maren.
It changes the lives of so many, and yet is so quickly forgotten. ONly in Connecticut has the ongoing connection of parents continued to make such a difference.