Poets Respond to the Uvalde Tragedy, Part 5
May 24, 2022
By Lisha Adela Garcia
Police officer revives choking baby
Britney Griner receiving correspondence while unlawfully detained in Russia
Dr. Gupta explains what memories are made of
Inmate steals little girl’s bike in escape attempt
23 pounds of cocaine found hidden in wheelchair
Bathrooms used to be squeaky clean-What happened?
Celebrating the creator of the PRIDE Flag
One thousand sahuaros replanted in Bush Fire burn scar
Jada Smith opens up about Oscar Slap
Book banning of authors of color on the rise
Woman claims faulty drug test cost job
Navy fighter crashes in southern California
Family resource center supports growing number of homeless students
Rafael Nadal advances to French Open
Evangelical Church faces state of emergency over pandemic and politics
Brewery provides more industry opportunities
Tip jars stolen from donut shops
California aquarium has new penguin
Manhole explosion blows out windows
Remains of girl found dead in 1974 finally ID’d
Tropical storm to bring flooding rains to Florida
Ukrainian Flag near Russian Embassy vandalized
Woman finds $36K in free couch she got on Craig’s List
Baby sloth reunited with Mom
Students stage walkouts for reproductive rights
Beverly Hills hosts first PRIDE parade
Michigan woman got free lottery tickets and won $100K
Trump ally, Peter Navarro, arrested at airport
Meghan and Harry arrive in London for Queen Elizabeth’s 70th jubilee
Former judge killed in his Wisconsin home in a targeted attack
National Spelling Bee fast facts
Social Security faces shortfall unless congress acts
Two teenagers accused of killing 11- year-old girl
Finals favorite shifting after Celtics game 1
Oh, And
19 children and 2 teachers shot dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Shooter dead, worked at Wendy’s.
A Texas Shattering
By Milton Jordan
If some Word somewhere uttered this world
into being, it mispronounced itself.
Word may have stuttered or lost the grammar
of language, left creation unbalanced,
so, we have swung round to destruction
and lost touch with Word’s life-creating presence.
This world has created words of its own
built itself a life-denying language
more concerned with securing questionable
rights than with saving innocent lives,
avoiding any responsibility,
disregarding Word’s ongoing offer of life.
Milton Jordan’s poem on Uvalde is heartbreaking. “More concerned with securing questionable rights than with saving innocent lives.” That sums up the moment. I also like the way he became almost biblical. In the beginning there was the “word” and now he turns that thought into this lovely poem. “lost touch with Word’s life-creating presence.” Ending the poem with “Word’s ongoing offer of life.”
Powerful poem by Lisha Garcia — the news rolls by day by day. Something as tragic as Uvalde grabs the headlines boldly and longer than, say, ‘Baby Sloth Reunited with Mother.’ Just one more tragic school shooting, eclipsed by another at a mall, another at a neighborhood party, and then it disappears all together. She reminds us of the significance. We can’t let these tragedies be minimized.