Grief and Grace in the “Ghazal for Emilie Parker” by Carolyne Wright from issue 299.2

This poem was written quickly, in response to the murder of twenty young students and six educators by a deranged shooter at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012.  The world was horrified by this event; outpourings of grief dominated the news and social media; and like many people I felt a need to respond in some way, as I followed the unfolding story over the next few days on National Public Radio. But the poem began only after I heard the NPR report on December 16, 2012, which featured Dr. Robbie Parker’s tribute to his daughter Emilie, one of the murdered children. The story and interview, written by NPR reporter Russell Lewis and hosted by NPR’s Rachel Martin, are still accessible on the web site of my local NPR affiliate station:  http://www.kuow.org/post/father-humbled-too-short-life-his-daughter

I wrote a few lines that afternoon, inspired by this…

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