Poetry, memoir,blogs and photographs from my world on the west coast of Canada.
Monday, April 20, 2020
CANADA STRONG
A sleepy little town in Nova Scotia,
a Sunday morning,
and a trail of twenty-three deaths
-so far -
plus the shooter.
We shall not speak his name.
We mourn.
May the legacy of those
who lost their lives
be our push for increased gun control
and the banning of assault weapons,
because we can.
We will remain
Canada Strong.
This is unusual for Canada, so we are in shock. The shooter first assaulted his girlfriend andhandcuffed nd bound her, but she managed to escape and hide in the woods. He then went on rampage for thirteen hours, killing 23 innocent souls. One death was an RCMP officer, a beautiful young wife and mother as she sought to apprehend him. Another was a beloved teacher. It was a small community, so everyone there is touched by this tragedy.
His rampage included the burning/exploding of vehicles, and five structures. Officials expect there may be more deceased discovered inside the buildings as the investigation of 16 crime scenes continues.
Prime Minister Trudeau said there are gun legislation bills in the works, to be dealt with when possible, as they are focusing on the pandemic right now. Like other people mourning deaths in a time of social distancing, everyone will find it difficult for there not to be a public coming together to honour these peoples' lives. I imagine they will find safe ways to do so. There will be a virtual vigil on Friday that the country will tune into. Sadness upon sadness.
The last mass shooting was of fourteen women at the Polytechnique in 1989.
The world is in a sad state. Almost more than Wild Woman can bear.
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Such a terrible tragedy, Sherry. I agree .. the state of the world is almost more than one can bear … we just seem to shuffle (self isolating, no less) from heartache to heartache.
ReplyDeleteHeaping heartbreak on top of heartbreak. It's just too sad.
ReplyDeleteTragedy upon tragedy is piling up around us. How much can we bear? Hopefully, this crisis will teach us to live more safely - without guns but more love.
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