Thursday 8 January 2015

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.)