When Love Meets Pain

Where does one hide when the fires erupt?
How does one breathe when the end is abrupt?
How does one survive an onslaught of hurt?
If this pain could talk my heart would burst.

Who can comprehend this level of pain?
Terror and horror so indescribable
Devastation so deep it feels unfathomable
Barriers so wide they seem
insurmountable.

Where do heavy hearts go?
When all the answers are no
Oh ocean of grief
You’ll drown me I know.

We’ve loved and we’ve lost
We’ve dreamed at a cost
Hate is a beast
Waiting to feast
It’s a monster among us.

Where does hope go?
When the heart becomes a battlefield
And the beats of a heart
Become lyrics of war.

Where does love live?
When the warrior moves in
Where does sustenance come from
When love’s marching orders have begun.

What is the shape of life?
When its cracks become craters
Which image is left when life is bereft
When ashes replace life’s revered space.

What’s left to do in the aftermath?
As many grieve and mourn
Like a phoenix we arise
Forge a new path and mobilize
A resilient nation is reborn.

Uniformed heroes locking arms
Scores of volunteers at full speed
Together a nation defies the odds
Unshakeable spirit and belief.

A circle of unity
A ring of light
Emanating from within
Circulating through the night.

What happens when love, unity and hope embrace pain?
Love says: I am here.
Unity says: We are together.
Hope says: We will prevail.
And the pain lessens.

Something is uncovered
We’re a people rediscovered
We rise. We fly. We defy.
AM YISRAEL CHAI.