STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY

DECEMBER 14, 2017

            for John of the Cross

            24 June 1542-14 Dec 1591

            for the children of Sandy Hook Elementary

            2007-8--14 December 2012

I was so far inside,

so dazed and far away

my senses were released

from feelings of my own

--John of the Cross

Coffee with Karen reading mail

online with spread honey on toast,

each of us separated

by this singled-out day

five years ago. Our grand-children

doubled in age. They have out-grown

the Chief Joseph Vest Karen

made for the children of Sandy Hook

with their names stitched and sewn

into the lining, fitting them forever.

Karen shows me photos of grandkids.

Holding the vest in one's hands, asking

how does one take a child down

from a cross? Chief Joseph's vest speaks

for Joseph now, refusing to fight.

How many picked up that cross

when the children came down?

Who were they? I can't see.

John knew this dark.

John said words can be like the sun.

Jim Bodeen

14 December 2017