I finished this poem in the Memorial Chapel (around 9:45pm) after spending the day on the campus and taking in everything (the formatting is lost in this text post):

Learn To Prevail—32 to 33

What can we learn from that most tragic day?
The 32 who were slain would have something to say:
Would they want us to sorrow, be depressed, whine or wail?
No! They would want us to live to our fullest and prevail!

And these 32 slain would now want us to see:
The final number who died here that day—33.

For each life is a soul our CREATOR has made,
And our memories of them will not die, only fade.
We must seek to be honest with the facts of the past,
If we hope to prevail and learn lessons that last.

Seung-Hui Cho was a soul that was troubled for sure,
Thinking thoughts that were evil—selfish thoughts, thoughts not pure.
He could not find the peace that we all seek to find,
He instead found deep turmoil—thinking thoughts that did blind.

32 victims that day would now have us to know,
That we dare not forget that poor soul—Seung-Hui Cho.
They would have us prevail, find true peace, use our eyes;
They would have us see JESUS, who was killed, but did Rise!

Fix your eyes on this JESUS, find forgiveness from sin;
Learn to help troubled souls—love and serve ALL men.

Charles Pugh
April 16, 2008

**Dedicated to my LORD; Inspired by my VT Community and my day on campus—04/16/08.

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