I can think of no other response to all this violence and suffering than to state my love this way:

To my friends in the LGBTQ community: I love you.
To my gun-toting friends: I love you.
To my friends who’ve immigrated from elsewhere: I love you.
To my friends who feel afraid, angry, and misunderstood: I love you.
To my bleeding heart friends: I love you.
To my friends who’ve messed up big time: I love you.
I love you because I know you.
I love you because of our commonness and differences.
I know you as good, kind-hearted, principled people.
I know/love you, imperfections and all, as you know/love flawed me.
I know you would not harm me or my loved ones.

I wish I could pitch a big ole tent and host a party where you all could meet each other and discover your beauty, tell stories about your lives, how you got your names, what you cherish, what poems speak to you, what music moves you, what food you like, what places in the wilderness call you home.

All this so you could see how easy it is to cherish you.

Your pal,
KKB