This week marked the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. On November 10, 1975, this Great Lakes freighter foundered only 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay. There were no survivors among the 29 men aboard. One of them, Captain Ernest McSorely, was planning to retire after the voyage. Gordon Lightfoot wrote a popular song about the tragedy that I find haunting, especially when coupled with footage of the wreckage and a list of the names of the crew and the towns where they lived.

Today, of course, another tragedy unfolded in the City of Paris. More than 125 people have been killed in multiple, coordinated terrorist attacks throughout the French capital. Remember the victims, those who weep for them, and the people of that country in your prayers tonight. Hold them all in the love of God, knowing that you stand there as well.

If you want to write a haiku this week, write about your prayer, your memory, or your reflection that relates to a tragedy. It could be about today’s news or something either from your own past or from the pages of history. Your one verse only needs five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.

Why do innocents
have to die to unite us
as human beings?