“No sad thought his soul affright…”

No sad thought his soul affright,
Sleep it is that maketh night;
Let no murmur nor rude wind
To his slumbers prove unkind:
But a quire of angels make
His dreams of heav’n and let him wake
To as many joys as can
In this world befall a man.

— Anon

I’ve been trying to decide what I should write about for today’s post. It bugged me all weekend. Topics felt too small, too insignificant.

Or much, much too large.

So instead I give you a moment to pause and reflect, not just on the children, on the thought of whose lives and beautiful faces our hearts shatter like the thinnest glass, but also on the deceased teachers and staff who, in their last moments of dedication to their kids became first responders, and martyrs.

They include one of our own. Anne Marie Murphy, 52, taught special education at Sandy Hook Elementary. Her body was found in a classroom where she fell, trying to shield a group of children who died in the shooting. In her final act of devotion, she literally placed herself between the shooter and her students.

Yeah, I don’t really have any more words to share. Just names.

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N. Wyatt, 6

Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Rachel Davino, 29