Alumnus Richard Blanco pens tribute to Orlando victims

In the weeks following the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people, the nation has rallied to help families of the victims cope with loss and push for an end to hatred.

Richard Blanco ’91, MFA ’97 performing “One Today” at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration

FIU creative writing alumnus Richard Blanco ’91, MFA ’97, best known for delivering his poem “One Today” at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, penned an emotional response to the devastation titled “One Pulse—One Poem” for the Miami Herald.

In it, he beckons people to honor Orlando victims by keeping their memories alive, sharing fond memories and old yearbook photos, and placing “each memory like a star, the light of their past reaching us now.”

Blanco writes: “Use warm words to describe the cold bodies of our husbands, lovers and wives, our sisters, brothers and friends. Draw a metaphor so we can picture the choir of their invisible spirits rising with the smoke toward disco lights, imagine ourselves dancing with them until the very end.”

Watch Blanco perform “One Pulse—One Poem” at miamiherald.com.