From Dr. John Z. Guzlowski:

I’ve been watching the Joplin news and posted a poem that I wrote years ago about a tornado that hit a small central Illinois town we were living in.

I’m posting as an additional reflection on the recent tornado in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts which touched down about one mikle away from St. Joseph’s PNC Parish.

Here are the first two stanzas of this powerful poem. As a parent, it tore through me.

My Daughter Lillian is Outside Playing

In the quiet space of the dining room
My wife and I lay out the place settings

The forks beside the Wedgwood plates
The spoons and knives in their places…