I am never sure what to say…

I am never sure what to say
when justice is not.
When lives are shattered
by those entrusted to protect
a heart, a family, a community.
A life.

Cruelty is comprehensible,
but what are we to say
when the best option's best efforts are not enough?
When one's good reason becomes another's bad outcome?
When the vulnerable are trampled underfoot, and we realize, 
to our horror,
that the bootprint matches our tread?

(It is not that we meant to step on them.
Only that our eyes were fixed 
on where we were trying to go,
and what we were trying to accomplish,
and we were not looking out for them.)

I am never sure what to say.
It is too much, and never enough.
What I want to say is:
“I hear you. I love you. I care. I am sorry.
I believe you. Your perspective matters to me. Your pain matters to me. 
I am sorry.
I want to do better. I am trying to do better. 
I am not sure how to do better.
I am sorry.” 

May God have mercy on us all.