Flying Souls 5/28/06

This poem was written in memory of the two children whose father threw them off the balcony of their hotel room and then jumped to his own death in Miami on Memorial Day Weekend 2006.



Little Souls
Flying through the air
I'm sure
They have no idea
How they got there
Cut off
From the experience
Of their discovery years
All that's left
Is a mother's memory
A river of tears
And a pool of blood

They probably had
Normal childhood fears
But even with
Superhero powers
They couldn't see
Their father
Throwing them off the balcony
And then jumping himself
All the promise
Of a pure heart
And a clean slate
Ended by gravity
And seething hate

I've known every emotion
Ecstasy to rage
Euphoria to despair
But I'll never know
From where
The feeling arises
When someone so despises
The life that they've created
That it has to be negated
In a fit of sudden fury
That leaves the judge and jury
No choice
But to surmise
That the tragedy
Of the souls
Flying off the balcony
Is a product of our age
And serves only to gauge
The degree to which
We're all related

I cried
When I wrote this ode
Because a child's death
Increases the load
We all must bear
If we are to be human
And still care