MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH
Circles of life shattered, emptying hearts
at Stoneman Douglas High, February 14, 2018.
A powerful, pointless eclipse blocked all light
by a semiautomatic AR-15 riffle.
40 bullets spewed upholding our U.S. second amendment,
leaving all vulnerable in a surreal reality.
Hugs and prayers for all,
but prayers are not enough,
Do Something!
©2017 Michelle Kogan
With a heavy heart I’m offering this poem for Poetry Friday. I began it from a prompt that was on Laura Shovan’s 6th Annual February Daily Poem Project. We are composing ekphrastic poems this month, though I only used the image as a point of departure, for my heart was consumed by this horrible action.
I learned today about the Avielle Foundation, It was started by Jeremy Richman and Jennifer Hensel, Avielle’s parents who are both scientists, and who lost their six year old daughter Avielle during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. They are working to “prevent violence and build compassion” through “neuroscience research aimed at understanding the brain’s chemistry, structure, and circuits that lead to violence and compassion.” In addition to research they also offer educational ways for all of us to get involved. I plan on spending time at this site and learning more about what they are doing and how I can help out.
Thanks Jone for hosting this weeks Poetry Friday Roundup! Visit Jones blog Check It Out
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
Michelle, I read your poem on Laura’s page and commented there as well. Thank you so much for including information about the Avielle Foundation here. I find myself heartbroken and wondering what to do and this gives me a starting place.
At least it’s a stepping stone.
Thank you, Michelle, for your poem. Your words help. xo
Thanks Irene, I’m determined to doing more.
It’s a powerful poem, Michelle. “Blocked all light” fits many emotions.
Thanks Linda!
Like you, I turned to poetry for help and comfort in responding to the tragedy at Douglas Stoneman. Thank you for offering your poem and for sharing about the Avielle Foundation. I’ll be exploring more and looking for ways to make a difference.
Thanks Kay, yes we’ve mirrored each other in our poems.
Michelle, this line holds the power: A powerful, pointless eclipse blocked all light. Did the inspiration come from the Eclipse corrugated artwork image? Life is so fragile and uncertain but violence is unconscionable.
I wanted to work some of the imagery in the art into my poem–one flowed and fed into the other.
Thanks for the poem, Michelle, expressing what we all feel. A tragic week.
Thanks Jama, too much loss for too many.
“Do something” is right! Thanks for the info about the Avielle Foundation.
Thanks Tabatha.
Your broken flowers broke my heart, Michelle…
Sorry Laura, my hearts out there hanging too.
Do something is right, Michelle. But who and when? I will check out work of the Avielle Foundation, too.
I wish I could offer more, I wanted to offer something here–floods of letter writing to senators and reps is good too.
Your poem is powerful, especially these lines,
“A powerful, pointless eclipse blocked all light
by a semiautomatic AR-15 riffle.
40 bullets spewed upholding our U.S. second amendment,
leaving all vulnerable in a surreal reality.”
but it is your painting that makes tears spring to my eyes. You have embodied loss and sadness with those broken flowers.
In my district, we have taken part in the “Start With Hello” program that Sandy Hook Promise has launched. https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/bringstartwithhello
Thanks for passing on this link Mary Lee, I’ll take a look. It’s just too much–we have to make the kids schools safe!
Thank you, Michelle. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
And thank you for your teaching, Ruth!
Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. We’ve started having “active shooter” drills at work. My God, it just boggles my mind and breaks my heart.
I look forward to a day when we have put measures in place to make attacks like these in schools, impossible.
Thank you for sharing your grief and determination, Michelle. For those of us who also feel like those sad flowers, this post is a comfort and a first step.
Thanks Michelle, hope our first steps can turn into some changes!
The Avielle Foundation is amazing. I listened to an NPR interview of the parents….Thank you for turning your grief into art. It’s so important that we keep pushing for change. Artists are in the edge of that, always.
https://www.npr.org/2017/12/12/569060702/a-newtown-familys-campaign-to-change-how-we-think-about-violence
Thanks Linda, yes art speaks in so many ways!
Something has to change. I hope the lawmakers hear the cries this time, but I am so disillusioned about it all. Grief over lives lost. Grief over failed protection. Grief. What can we do but turn to art and poetry? Thanks for pointing me to the Avielle Foundation.
I hear the voices of the students-perhaps change is coming!
Your illustration and poem is a strong response to the heartbreak on Valentine’s Day. I am still wrapping my head around it and the lack of any change. I am rooting for those teenage survivors to start and continue a movement that will create change. How many more lives need to lost>
I’m with all those students too!
Those kids are so brave.