Let It Be

On Monday night, and several times since, I sat down to write about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I started writing about gun control laws, mental health services, political pandering, the role media plays in de-sensitizing society, and our insidious need to place blame as quickly as possible.

Every time I would lose my focus after the first few sentences. I would stare at the wordless screen and my heart would break all over again. As someone called to public service, as a writer, part-time social commentator, educated woman, mother, former RA, as a person, I should have a comment to make- right?

But the words wouldn’t come. Nothing was right. Then I heard a song playing in the background.

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be. Let, for this once, “Let’s Roll” be simply “let it roll on”. Let action not be the answer, not today. Let the pain do its work: give hearts time to heal, souls time to find comfort.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.

There will be time to make speeches. There will be a chance to engage in a societal debate about how to prevent a repetition of this horror.

But that time is not now.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.



** Lyrics courtesy of the Beatles and this site: http://www.mp3lyrics.org/b/beatles/let-it-be/