Opinion: Watch Minnesota’s poet laureate recite a poem for Melissa and Mark Hortman

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On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz announced that Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and her husband, Mark, will lie in state from noon to 5 p.m. Friday at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda. The Hortmans were shot and killed by a gunman who arrived at their home dressed like a police officer in the early morning hours on June 14.

After the shooting, Minnesota Poet Laureate Gwen Westerman wrote the following poem to capture the feelings created by the tragedy. We share it before the event at the Capitol. Read the poem below, or watch Westerman recite it in the video above.

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When there are no words

we question the utility of speeches

the futility of actions

and then we remember the dignity

of an oath

to represent and defend the people.

we ask our leaders to listen

our representatives to advocate.

we bring them our individual concerns

and place them in their hands

to become collective goals and solutions.

but there are no timelines or explanations

there are no words for

the gut punch of grief.

we grieve for as long as we need

we who are left behind in a space

we cannot fill with

only memories and sadness

but a space to fill

— when we are ready —

with the same passion

the same compassion

they showed us

and carry it forward to honor

all the good they did.

And then there are no words

to fully honor and remember them — only

the acts of kindness we hold out to each other

in the same way

they held out their hands to us.