I had a disturbed sleep last night waking up at 5am. I managed to get back to sleep and awoke again at 7am. I checked my twitter feed  and discovered the horrifying news about the terrorist attack in Manchester. I cried. I couldn’t cope with the sad news about another attack especially one which struck at our young people. This is cruel, beyond comprehension.  I contemplated the morning and realised how beautiful a day it was. A single bird remained atop a tree, not moving so I picked up my mobile phone and captured it. Seconds later it flew away. If only those young people could have flown away. If only that man hadn’t done what he did.

How ironic. The sun shone, but how could this be? How are we to continue when such atrocities happen? I suppose the answer is we have no choice; we have to, or the terrorists will win. So, I wiped my tears and tried to do something positive. I went for a walk. I hadn’t planned to take photos, but I did.   I’m sharing these at the end of my post, as a way to heal heartache. Life has to go on, but sometimes (being a parent,) you can’t help but feel the pain of such a devastating loss. To lose a child. This shouldn’t happen. Ever.

So today I am dedicating my Tanka to all the youngsters who lost their lives in Manchester, to their families and friends and to those who are still missing. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

This is in response to Colleen’s challenge: https://colleenchesebro.com/2017/05/23/colleens-weekly-poetry-challenge-35-past-future/

Here are my photos of Emmaus, a charity for the homeless near me. It’s a great place to go to for a cup of tea and cake. There is a garden, ample parking places and everything you buy goes towards helping the homeless. I bought several new mugs, and a couple of other things, and snapped photos of their recycled art sculptures, their hens roaming in the garden, bee area, and several quirky bits and pieces. It helped. A little.

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Take care, stay safe.