Advice to a Reporter

When you speak, six o'clock sharp, inside the television,
Showing little interest or care,
For events that you begin to share,
How do you keep from coming undone?

A video showing debris plays upon the screen.
You report that eight young people are gone.
We can't understand how things went so wrong,
As we stare at the horrific and mind-boggling scene.

Do not sit there behind your desk with that blank stare,
Reciting empty numbers and words.
Eight souls are released from the ashes as birds.
Are you completely unaware?

Talk of the young man who made a sacrifice
So that another could live. Of the girl-
Who had big dreams to one day change the world.
Don't repeat the statistics, here is my advice:

Go to the town and hear from each victim,
Let them know that we hear their cries.
See the pain in the mothers’ and fathers' eyes,
For at that moment, the future seems impossibly grim.

Eventually, a new beginning will arise from the debris.
We must try to find hope amidst the suffering and sorrow;
The past cannot be changed, but we can control tomorrow.
Tell not of our bad times- but of our triumphant story.