Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Grow Mama Grow

Home
About
Contact
All Posts
- Islamophobia and The Prophets: What We Can Learn
- Is Islamophobia a Reality at School? How to Talk to Your Kids About It
  - There’s a Used Condom on My Door Handle: Hate Crimes and the Burden of Proof

Home
Muslim
An Apology Remiss

An Apology Remiss

Last updated on: February 14, 2013 at 6:00 am by Admin GrowMama

An Apology Remiss 2013-02-14T06:00:31-04:00 Admin GrowMama

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

20 caskets, small and shaped like angels, sublime

Souls taken so early, you were still much less worldly THAN you were divine

And with you, royal innocence crowned,

Are buried all of our excuses, six feet beneath the ground

Entombed are our alibies that we were too busy and that we couldn’t make a change

That we had bigger problems, and that you’re killer was just deranged

We excuse ourselves into thinking we had no part

And we forgive ourselves without asking for forgiveness from our hearts

We stand back and try to wash the red off our palms

We hold prayer vigils, and sing guilt-ridden tribute songs

We unite but for a moment, in collective mourning and grief

And then we sleep off our contrition, the morning comes as a relief

We then pretend this never happened and try to forget

That Newtown is just a symptom and the disease still festers yet

So before I close my eyes and turn my back on you like the rest of them

I have composed a written apology before slipping into the bliss of being purposefully blind,

To every single child in this world that has been left to suffer, on behalf of all humankind:

I am sorry.

That this life has been too much for us with all of its stresses and demands

That we have held on to our own desires instead of holding on to your little hands

I am sorry that you will never live out your dreams or get to graduation

That bombs and guns were your teachers and injustice was your education

I am sorry that we couldn’t yet figure out this whole thing about living in peace,

Because we have found it is it is hard to love and hate comes too easy

I am sorry that when I saw so much oppression, I chose to sit by quietly

When I may have had a chance to speak up, I watched and cried silently

I am sorry that I didn’t do my part although I knew I should

And that bullets reached your heart much faster than I ever could

I am sorry I was not able to give you enough role models to admire

I am sorry on behalf of this generation for absolving ourselves by blaming the one prior

I am sorry for obsessing about the present and living in the past

Instead of thinking about the future, always putting you last

I am sorry for all of the unsung lullabies and bedtime stories that will go unread

For the never-to-be laughs and the ‘I love you’s’ that will go unsaid

I am sorry that the part of mankind you witnessed was the worst

Like all of the Adam Lanza’s in the world, who we probably failed first

I Am So Sorry

And when you reach heavens gates, all of you together

And Abraham, with open arms guides you into paradise to play forever

Explain to him that you were never meant to be a sacrifice, and that you unjustly died

And that the only ones left to grieve for are those who still consider themselves alive

Because, though the angel of death came and collected your souls early, in reality

You remain alive with God and what really died was our humanity.

Ahmad Yousaf

Ahmad is a second year medical resident in internal medicine and pediatrics. He lives in Little Ferry, NJ with his wife Angie, and has been performing spoken word poetry for 7 years now.

Motherhood Reflections

Previous Post

February 11, 2013

The Time Has Come to Move

Next Post

February 18, 2013 Tackling Temper Tantrums (Part 1)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book and Movie Reviews Community Connecting with Allah Counselor's Corner Environment fatherhood five stars GrowBaba Spotlight GrowMama Picks Growmama Roundup Health Light Fare marriage Motherhood Reflections moving Parenthood Photography Poems Schooling Self-development tragedy Tutorials Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 November 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the name for a standard silver coin in Biblical times?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Talent Mina Shekel Denarius