At a distance, silence broken by what sounded like fire crackers

In the confined space, intermittent showers of machine gun shots, screaming, fear, shock and mass confusion.

A brief few hours turned eternal – bodies dropped, blood splashed, a safe community forever traumatized.

Profound sadness, communal grief, guilt, anger. Why?

Mental illness, eccentric ideology, targeted anger, self-hatred? All of the above?

Wild fire heads of violence throughout this land

Funerals buried the deceased in their prime; funerals demanded more answers

Our responsibilities – ideas not quite formed but remained haunting

One in our God – Muslim, Christians, gay, heterosexual, black, brown and white.

No longer fire crackers at a distance, but a dagger through part of our own Body.