Shadow Puppet Storyteller

Love is the saber

Listening to album, The Last Ship, created five or more years ago by Sting (Gordon Sumner)'s semi-autobiographical musical tale. I bought tickets to see the production coming to L.A. in January 2020. So, there's a line in one of his songs within it, which states: Love is the saber, Love is the shield. Only because of this past week, that line of poetry, immediately connects in my mind to my high school yearbook, which is perennially titled, The Sword & Shield. It doesn't matter that a few decades have rolled by since I walked its quad and classrooms. A terribly young student made my alma mater a killing field last Thursday. I have not lived there for a long time, but I know plenty who stay in that valley for its perceived safety and family-friendliness.

It took me by surprise, to realize a day or two later, where I was focused on all the details of that day, and even felt I was being annoying to co-workers stating several times in shock, "that is my school," "I went to that school," "Saugus was my home." Other people were not in that same headspace -- a day or two later other people do not know I went there, are freshly receiving the information, and it is clear they can say they are sorry, but not really care.