The Court of the Innocent has lost faith in us: a rebuke from the gates of heaven. This is another meditation written in the sorrowful aftermath of gun violence, this time at Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, Texas. Here are the stories of the 21 victims of this massacre. And here are links to three of my related prayers, with additional links in the postscript, below: “Against Gun Violence,” “For Survivors of School Shootings,” and “A Dream of Columbine: Psalm of Protest 13.”

After Uvalde: The Court of the Innocent
The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Is twenty-one souls larger today.
Two adults and nineteen children shot dead.
They bring their blood as evidence against us,
As evidence of our failure to protect them
And the impotence of our rage.

The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Have stopped listening to our speeches.
They no longer say ‘amen’ to our prayers.
They have turned their backs to us,
As we have turned our backs to them.

The court of the innocent
At the gates of heaven
Minister to the souls of the newly murdered,
They minister to those cut down
By guns and violence,
By politics and inaction,
Tending to these recent companions in death,
Consoling their lifeless hearts.

© 2022 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com.

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Postscript: Here are links to additional related prayers: After a Deadly Rampage,” “Racist Violence against Houses of Worship,” “Tree of Life, Pittsburgh,” “For the Children of Newtown,” “After the Washington Navy Yard Shootings,” “For Orlando, For the USA,” and “In Memoriam: Sandy Hook.”

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul, This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

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Tags: death, mass murder, Mass Shooting, prayer after a school shooting, School Shooter, school shooting