A Mother's Quatrain - In Response To The Responses To The Responses To #FreddieGray

I WISH TO HIGH HEAVEN THAT POLICE OFFICERS IN AMERICA WOULD STOP BRUTALLY KILLING AMERICAN CITIZENS.

BUT WHEN THEY DO, I wish that media would give parents of the victims the space to grieve,

BUT SINCE THEY DON'T, I wish that people would not expect the grieving parents to suddenly become diplomats, emissaries of the outside world to their grieving communities. to tell them how wrong they are to express their grief - and their rage - in certain ways.

BUT SINCE THEY DO, THEN I WISH TO HIGH HEAVEN THAT A PARENT WOULD SAY, JUST ONCE, FOR ALL THE CAMERAS AND THE MICROPHONES...

something like:

I know y'all are hoping that something I say
will help to keep people from rioting today.
But I don't care if they burn all of it down.
My child is worth more than this whole damn town.

(P.S. - I call it "A Mother's Quatrain" because it was a mother's image that came to me. But I would be glad to hear a father say it, as well.)

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After I hit "publish," and auto-scheduled tweets to share this, the following lines came to me, as something the parent might say to those who challenge or question the above:

I used to be meek, and I've always been mild.
But what would you say if it was your child?

And that, I think, would end the interview.