Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems written by northern Illinois poets. This week’s poet is Terry Loncaric.
From her many years as a reporter, feature writer, and newspaper editor, Loncaric has become a keen observer of life and all things that matter. "I guess the journalist in me gravitates to fresh perspectives on current events," she said. "In this poem, I wanted to honor the reluctant celebrity, Madison, [Wisconsin] Police Chief Shon Barnes. I admired his calm presence and compassionate nature in the midst of a horrible school shooting. In poetry, I often have an opportunity to pay homage to ordinary people who do extraordinary things."
Here's her poem “Another School Shooting.”
The cameras roll.
He has to make
sense of the senseless,
demonstrate eloquence,
when all he would really
like to do is scream in
raw pain at the prospect
of facing survivors,
a shell-shocked public,
at another school shooting.
Not a single moment
to exhale, to shed a tear
even as the death toll
keeps rising in real time.
He is there to soak
up the collective grief,
the overwhelming losses
of the latest school tragedy.
He is there to absorb
the anger, the despair, the immensity of
everyone's sorrow.
He clicks into overdrive
because that is what
he is expected to do.
Where are the prayers
and hugs for the
compassionate
police chief?
Where is the comfort
for the comforter?
A moment of silence,
please, for Madison
Police Chief Shon Barnes,
today's reluctant celebrity.
He will eventually go home
and collapse into the arms
of his wife and children.
Then maybe he can cry.
