Sue, James, thanks very much for reading and commenting.
I was aiming for a hymn-like quality, so used "It Came Upon a Midnight
Clear" as a model.
(William Barnes uses the same form for his poem "The Geate A-Vallen To".)
The aspiration was no more than to try to express a common feeling in a
structured way, not to say anything specially striking or original.
Here's a revision:
Nearer to Thee
(In memory of Holly and Jessica)
We waited, fearful, for the news,
knowing what was to come:
those children in the photograph
would not be coming home.
Small hope was ended with a bleak
announcement on TV,
while someone sang the brave old hymn,
"Nearer my God to thee."
Can God exist when malice lurks
throughout the world he made,
when every generation sees
how trust and feeling fade?
Each evil lessens all of us -
who lets such evil be?
But grief fills churches - grief, and shame -
and brings us near to thee.
We search for meaning, finding none;
for hope, where hope has died.
Yet there's a lesson we were taught
when Christ was crucified:
lives unforeclosed are beacons, bright
however dark the sea.
So take them, take them; keep their grace,
and hold them near to thee.
Regards,
David
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