Rae Leviné shares Grenfell Tower tribute

There has been a huge out­pour­ing of grief for those who were trag­i­cal­ly tak­en in the fire at Gren­fell Tow­er only a week ago today.

The local com­mu­ni­ty, and all those affect­ed by the fire, near and far, are still com­ing to terms with what has hap­pened – and what is to be done next.

Giv­en hor­rif­ic nature of the event, and the imme­di­ate after­math, poet Rae Lev­iné has been moved to share a heart­felt trib­ute to all those lost, and their loved ones.

Below is a short extract of Leviné’s poem, ‘Gren­fell Tow­er Tribute’.

This hurts…
It hurts more because this could’ve been avoided,
the gov­ern­ment + the coun­cil have shown they don’t care and it’s just so disappointing.

They’ve empha­sized the divi­sion between the rich and the poor,
but the poor have shown the qual­i­ties of what it means to be a human being which is knock­ing down doors.

This won’t divide us and can only make us more united.
Bet­ter days are com­ing and we will fight this.

They dis­re­gard­ed the poor,
but did not count on people’s power.
Uni­ty is strength and this is some­thing we have shown,
We’re stand­ing and fight­ing togeth­er until you tell us the truth and give these peo­ple brand new homes.

These deaths must count for something,
a moth­er with­out her sons or daughters,
kids with­out their parents,
broth­ers with­out their sisters,
fam­i­lies with­out their loved ones and have lost every­thing they own!

You can read the full poem on Leviné’s blog.

If you are curi­ous how you can help those affect­ed by the event at Gren­fell Tow­er, The Guardian has writ­ten some advice on what you can do.

Image: Flickr-CC/Jonas Bengts­son