Eros, son of Ares and Aphrodite

With shattered bow, and broken hearts in tow

Weeping, among the silence,

Of once beating hearts,

No longer enchanted by love’s arrows.

War plagued that day,

Ares, god of war, delighting in the slaughter

Of souls, lost to chaos: havoc, and bloodshed…

knowing no end.

Aphrodite, goddess of love, looking down in agony,

spirits fallen, crushed, like the lives below…

humans, dead.

Human kind, for all it’s worth,

devastated and broken,

for evil took hold of that day.

Love quenched by the darkness,

illuminated only by the primer explosion of fire arms,

The light of the sun, creeping in on this dismal scene,

And the light of electronic devices, documenting tragedy.

A day of love, filled with broken hearts

Eros' arrows and his darts,

Splintered and trampled upon, in the madness.

End result: death and national sadness.

Instead of people, falling in love,

Bodies were falling to the floor, as if in a war.

Instead of the red of the lovelorn heart, infiltrating

The red of flowing blood, permeating.

Instead of the knowledge of the day, floating through the air

Bullets, soared across the open hallways, through doorways

Instead of students incapacitated by a day of hard work

Students were lacerated by Ares’ forces

While Aphrodite’s doves, were nowhere to be seen.

Aphrodite wails a cry of pain

Cupid shakes his head, in shame

Ares’ demeanor, remains the same.

Innocence collected too soon, by the violence.

17 souls departing from this earth, too soon.

Loveless loner, leaving loved ones left alone:

Breaking up family’s homes...

The dead and gone, but never forgotten:

You the, 17, the fallen.

And to the survivors, our hearts are with you

And with you, our love, too