Innocence Lost, Margaret Mair, original art
The pain of children
Is the worst pain
Of all
Maimed bodies
Or
Hearts torn open,
They
Suddenly bereft
Of innocence,
A hopeless
Torment
In their cries.
And we
Who rush to bandage
And sooth
Know our ultimate
Impotence
For
We cannot
Take away,
Never fully erase
Frightful memories
Of deliberate injury,
Of terror and loss,
Of soul-searing pain
That someone
Inflicted.
And in the end
We learn
Such memories
Can only
Be buried with
The dead.
Written by Margaret Mair
Picture, original art by Margaret Mair
MairImages.ca Blog 
Such an evocative poem, Margaret. So well expressed.
Thank, you, Iris. It makes me happy to know you found it so!
Yes, indeed, Margaret. A beautiful, painful read.
And, truth be told a painful write. I am glad you found beauty in it.
Heartbreakingly powerful. How I wish this were not true, Margaret. But it is and you have captured the essence of evil with such compelling clarity.
I too wish this were not true – but sometimes, I think, truth must be told. And how I wish more people understood and acknowledged how evil it is to cause such pain.