Feeling the pain

a poem by Elaine E. Howie

What wretches are we?
That we can’t see
The depth of the Louisiana tragedy
How hollow I feel when they are still
Stuck in a mass casualty

How life does go on
As one sings a song
Another plays a match
As the next newscast we catch

I pray for them and us USA
We let some down this horrible day
We reached out and touched our friends
Yet our own was in need in the end