How Will We Respond?

Pain and anguish penetrate our world
from urban sites to rural burbs.
From seacoasts to landlocked hubs,
tears flow unchecked. What now?
Will hate and fear keep us bound?
Revenge be our rallying cry?

Not so for some Parisian survivors.
“I do not think of enemies but of those who
showed kindness, for the man who saved
my life,” one young woman said. “I want
to live for those whose lives ended too soon.”
I will not hate nor teach my son to fear,”
vowed a husband who had lost his young wife.

Courageous youth dare to overcome evil
with love. We cannot build walls, close borders
Candles are laid at the Place de la Republique.
Candles lit for victims of Paris attack
to those fleeing terror and war – we must not
become the hatred we want to banish. 
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo attends a meeting of French mayors in Paris on November 18, 2015.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo

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