FRANCE IN MOURNING: JANUARY 7th 2015.

Again the shots ring out:

this time on a quiet street

on a winter morning, in Paris.

But it could be my street,

your street, a friend’s son.

For is it not a war amidst technology -

endless death amidst tower blocks, 

distant sand dunes and in the air?

And none of us clearly know

its causes, although we guess

or think we know,

because it’s about both guns and souls. 

The soul of God, and the souls of people;

and sometimes we have forgotten

the depth of the soul and its hopes.

So sorrow and the heart’s longings mix

on this January night

as we light the candles

and France weeps.

                                      Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Scotland.

                                 (Please feel free to share this reflection.)