My heart is heavy
Part of it now broken for those I’ve never met
We are left with questions that can’t be answered
Left wondering what the world is coming to
What the world will look like when our children are grown
Cowardly souls with mission to steal innocence, freedom and lives
Murderers whose only intention is to incite hatred and fear
To divide.
The unimaginable happened.
In the city I love.
Now my heart hurts for those I have never met
Whose faces are now ingrained on my brain.
Darkness fell
For mere moments
Until light began to shine
The police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, firemen, call handlers, faced with a nightmare but did not give up.
Put thoughts of their own families, their own lives on hold
People rushed to help, not thinking of themselves but others
They calmed people, helped them leave, tried to keep people safe
Held and comforted those who were injured
Ensuring they were not alone
Not for applause or recognition
Because that’s what we do
People offered their homes for shelter
People offered lifts to strangers
Taxis and restaurants and businesses thought not of profit but of people in need
People queued to give their blood
They sent food and drink
They gave up their time
They donated money in the small hope it would help
They went out and got bees tattooed on their bodies
Because they needed to do something
They came out in their thousands and showed the world
We were united
That we would not let the darkness win
I do not have the energy, the time, to allow hatred to take a place in my heart
My heart is heavy
It is heavy because I choose to love
I choose to love, to remember those poor souls no longer here
I choose to think of their families, their friends
I choose to hold them in my heart because I cannot imagine what they are going through
Because they now face a lifetime of grief, because their lives will always now be less bright
I choose to hold in my heart those that survived, who will live with this always
I choose to remember all those that helped in any way that they did
I choose to look at the outpouring of love, of support, of disbelief that’s been shown over the last 2 days.
That is where the light lives
There are a number of fucktards who through their actions are intent on making us believe the whole world is bad
Who want us to live in suspicion and fear
Who cause atrocious things to happen and make us question humanity, leaving parts of our hearts broken
They are broken, they are heavy because they are open to those we do not even know
Yesterday after school my daughter played out with her friends
I watched as she rode her bike, laughing as her hair whipped behind her
Last night I hugged them a little harder, for a little longer
Thinking of those that I have never met
I do not want them to grow up in fear of living
I want them to look, to understand the world is not a bad place
Even when it seems like it is
In the darkest of moments the light still shines
We showed that light can win
And with our disbelief, our grief, our heavy hearts
We showed that love will win.