Manchester, 2017
After the Ariana Grande Concert Terrorism Attack
I am watching Netflix,
or drinking coffee at work,
or buying milk in the supermarket,
when the disaster unfolds
like the worst origami.
Someone walks into an arena,
an airport, a crowd,
and blows himself up.
Like radiation from
Hiroshima or Chernobyl,
the grief swallows us whole.
And like exposure to radiation,
it is so easy to crumble.
I am only 23 years old,
which means I have seen
too much and not enough
of this world.
You see,
I was only a seven year old girl
in a classroom
when two planes crashed
into two towers
on the other side of the world.
I don't remember that day
but now, it's taught
in history classes.
And on the other side of town,
my nephew is sleeping
and I hope he will sleep
through all this hurt.
But years from now,
he may learn about this day
in a history lesson
and he may even ask me questions
because I am an adult.
Because he'll think
I’m brave
and he’ll think
I know everything.
But I’m not and I don’t.
So instead,
I’ll tell him that we didn’t crumble,
That people helped,
That hope spread through the world
Like ripples from a stone in a pond.
Tomorrow,
The sky will be blue
And we will still be searching
For grown ups who have all the answers,
But we will have hope.
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