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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

The eyes of the young that will never grow old

Stories of their souls left untold;

A gift so innocent, so young, so true

A nation of mourners heartbroken, confused;

The loss of a life brings ageless pain

But to lose a child leaves an endless stain;

Every mother, father, sister or brother

Knows the ache of losing another;

We don’t understand and won’t pretend to

We only ask for a little comfort just to get thru;

No one knows why we face such violent acts

I’m not even sure that’s the question we need to ask;

Let’s just gather together as we have many times before

Let’s shower the families that will hurt for evermore;

Let us do what America does best

Join together when our faith is at its test;

I don’t care what spiritual being gives you life

Just pray an end to this misery and strife;

We are all of someone and we all know love

We are all tested and we must all overcome;

We are imperfect and yes we often fail

But we are Americans and we shall prevail;

We often fight each other on our own land

But we, Americans, together we stand;

Shaken to the core and yes, we cry today

But we, Americans, will see another day;

Sandy Hook, we care, we cry, we feel your pain

We pray, we love, and we hurt the same;

You can’t see us, but we mourn with you

Your angels are our angels, they’ll carry us all through.

—Dec. 17, 2012

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.