child of God

Tyler Clemente of New Jersey

Seth Walsh of California

Raymond Storm Chase of Rhode Island

Cody Barker of Wisconsin

Billy Lucas of Indiana

Asher Brown of Texas

Go ahead...
look deep into their eyes...
children of God.

Go ahead and look
and see
the personalities, the spirit, the stories, the lives
God so lovingly created.

Go ahead.
Sit with them.
Sit with their families
and there friends
who now
live with grief...
overwhelming grief.

Each one of these young men
are gone.
And why?

Go ahead
stand if you will
at their side
and say if you dare
before God....
that these precious children
deserved
that moment of hopelessness
those seconds of loneliness
those minutes of despair
before they
gave in...
gave up.

Go ahead.

Go ahead with
the political and theological
agendas and debates.

Go ahead
and utter
you don't want to be bothered
with such.

Go ahead...

But first....
look into their eyes....
these precious children.
Sit with them.
Sit with their families.
Listen.
Hear.

Because any talk about love
isn't love
if you don't have the
nerve,
the patience,
the compassion
enough to listen
and hear.

The time has past
for these precious children
and their families.
For we did not listen.
They were not heard.

But it does not have to remain so.
"Please Lord God...
do not let it remain so."