Today is the one year anniversary of Uvalde, the shooting of 19 students and two teachers killed by an 18 year old who bought the gun legally.  Their families gather now in a group called “21 Angels’ to call for action and share their grief.  And yet, again, as after Sandy Hook and other shootings, nothing changes.  

Yesterday I read poems that Poets.org sent in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day.  I read the poems, touched, wondering how we’ve come to celebrate pain and loss with parades, floats, and food.  Perhaps that’s one way to process grief.  

Monday, a friend who lost her husband recently, said it’s heartbreaking and also heart opening.

We come together and share the open wounds of grief.

This is not our world with trees in it. It’s a world of trees, where humans have just arrived.

– Richard Powers