My Journey to God

United in Grief

We are rivals on the athletic field
and, even though we have all graduated,
we still debate the merits of our academic programs
and the quality of our degrees.
Among the six of us, we have four degrees from Tech,
and four degrees and one certificate from UVA,
so the academic score is almost even.

The athletic field tells a different story though,
and November brings a barrage of phone calls,
one sibling calling another,
fight songs floating back and forth.
Lately, it has been mostly Hokies calling Hoos to brag
because, more often than not,
VPI out-muscles and out-performs UVA in the game.

Their school colors are maroon and orange,
and ours are blue and orange,
but we all bleed red,
we cry blue
and we all hurt just as badly right now.

My sister graduated 10 years ago,
but the thought of waiting to hear if she’s OK,
thinking of her huddled in a classroom or her dorm,
tears me apart,
and I can’t help but think of all those families
waiting to hear about their loved ones,
hoping that all will be OK.

I think about the potential that has been wasted,
and the lives that have been lost,
and how one person can take his own pain
and inflict it on thousands,
stunning and horrifying not only a school,
but a nation.

I don’t know what to do.
I watch the news and weep.
I remember Columbine and weep.
I think of my sister searching for word of people she knows,
and I weep for her,
knowing she wants to be there so she can comfort her friends,
and make her peace and join her fellow Hokies.

So I cry and I pray,
and I am reminded of that most basic of beliefs,
that we are all brothers and sisters,
and that life is sacred.
It doesn’t matter if we wear orange and maroon,
or blue and orange,
or if we are Hokies or Hoos,
or whose university is better than the other,
or whose team won the game.

We are family,
we are Virginians,
we are overwhelmed and brokenhearted,
and we are shocked and dismayed,
but most of all,
we are united in grief.

By Christine M. Prince

(Christine M. Prince is a member of St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis. She wrote this poem after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. She is from Virginia and attended the University of Virginia, which is Virginia Tech’s rival. Her sister, Shannon, attended Virginia Tech and several siblings earned various degrees from both UVA and Tech.) †