Blacksburg Beacon :: VT: A Poem in Memory of Virginia Tech

VT: A Poem in Memory of Virginia Tech

By Al Shoemaker
Posted on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 07:06:10 AM EDT

It was very tragic, what happened at Virginia Tech on Monday, so to try and raise hope, I wrot this poem, in memory of what happened to all the victims, survivors, families, and everyone else who was related to Virginia Tech. May all the lost ones rest in peace. Here's the poem.
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VT
Written by Al Shoemaker
In memory of those who died at Virginia Tech, May they always be with us
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This poem is dedicated to all that were lost,
Because someone wanted power and lives were the cost

For all the ones that sat there in fear,
For all the ones that shed many tears,
And for the ones who lost their loved ones, so kind and dear

We give a salute to all of them that tried to protect,
From a foolish madman that had a defect

Admiration should be given to all those that went to a better place,
Because their bravery shined, that moment they looked death in the face

For all the ones that suffered grief,
We hope very much that their pain will only be brief

Many sat there in caution, petrified like stone,
As that bad man took many lives, before he took his own

This is for all the ones who managed to stay so strong,
During that horrible moment, that felt so very long

They had to be so brave, to be so filled with hope,
And we wish good for the families, who are now trying to cope

Now is the time to spread peace and love,
In remembrance of the ones that now float above

No one knows why this era has already become such a sad time,
But now we must stand up, to prevent such similar crimes

We must stop other things from going on now,
How this became such a scary world, no one really knows how

We need to stop murders, racism, gang violence and gay bashing,
And we need to stop theft, violence, and window smashing

So let's help all the victims, families, and survivors and show that we all care,
Help them on their feet and help them recover from this scare,
And clean this death and sorrow out of our air,

So now we want to give love, to those whose dreams were wrecked,
And everyone else, who was there at Virginia Tech
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VT: A Poem in Memory of Virginia Tech

Sending Love

What can be said that hasn't already been covered by the media?
And why should there be so much media coverage in the first place? CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX, YAHOO, BBC and on and on. I can only imagine how our friends in Europe and across the globe are viewing this unimaginable event. But one of the first reactions that may come to mind, is blaming something. Blaming somebody. We may look for a reason why this occurred. Now that we know who the perpetrator is for sure, we are able to identify the event with an individual, Cho Seung-Hui. But how can we blame him, he is gone. There really is nothing we can do to punish him, really. Can we indict his family for allowing such a troubled individual such freedom? I did read a little piece that his grandfather wrote from Korea where he said that he would rather be dead than to have to face this horrible scenario. Whatever. We could even look for scapegoats such as the entire Korean community or Asian community. I suppose it would have been even more intense if he would have been a middle-easterner.

Is the school to blame? Not really. There is certainly no way to protect an entire campus from the acts of one deranged individual. Gun safety proponents certainly have a lot of material here, but c'mon. Would that really change things. Cho Seung-Hui may have had easy access to the weaponry, but that is not the cause for his actions. We'll never really know what was going on inside his head. He certainly wasn't dealing with the stress in his life unfortunately 31 fellow classmates paid for it.

All I can say is that this type of reaction just doesn't occur overnight for an individual. Unless he was severely inebriated or taking some mind altering substance, his thoughts, and mode of behavior have been building for a long time. It's just unfortunate that he was unable to cope with his troubles in other, non dangerous ways. Unfortunate and tragic. Horrific.

The only thing that even comes close to this situation is the Columbine massacre. Never before has anything like this occurred on a college campus. I went to Ohio State, and I can't imagine anything like this happening. They used to talk about the events of Kent State during Vietnam when four student protestors where killed by armed national guardsmen during a protest-but that's it. When I went to school my biggest fears where sustaining a permanent or life threatening injury on the football field. Can you tell me that today's college kids now have to look over their shoulder to see if one of their classmates is planning a massacre. I can't even imagine....more to follow. Perhaps, we'll talk about something lighter, like hair loss.

John Frank, MD
New York, NY

by Anonymous Hero on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 04:39:46 PM EDT