by Graham Allen

For them all

They turned you into a photograph,

an image of damage,

and everyone who had ever had a child,

or ever been a child, mourned.  

People spoke of outrage, betrayal,

charity and war. 

The internet buzzed,

and pulsed, and crackled. 

Prayers were raised,

analyses delivered. 

Everyone opened their eyes,

extended their vision,

considering the homeless,

the exiled, the dispossessed. 

But nothing changed,

and nothing ever will.