Where Have All the Flowers Gone ...

And where does the tic/tock of my clock go when it has done its momentary job?  And words, once spoken, where do they go?  Do they continue sending a message of the passage of time, of the mind’s thought or the heart’s longing to be in relationship, to change the world, to write a perfect poem or to make at least an imperfect apology. . .  

That melody haunts me still, so long after Simon and Garfunkel wrote it and the sad war was the sad answer to their sad and probing question, “Where have all the flowers gone?” 

“Long time passing. . . . long time ago.”

Where do waves go once they hit the shoreline? Or what happens to the snowflakes when they melt? Or a rainbow when it is no longer?  What happens to our memories when death comes?

“When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?”

Where have all the flowers gone, indeed? And when will we ever learn that those lovely flowers may be decorating the graves of legendary '60’s people like JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr. or our century’s victims of war, trafficking, abortion, starvation, injustice and crime.

When will we ever learn?  When will we ever learn?

Renée Domeier, OSB