God was calling on a heavenly angel,
In the year of '99.
The trumpets blew
The skies were clear
A wedding to arise.
A fairy tale she dreamt of once,
a bride to be one day
A vision in white,
a glow so bright,
A beauty for the day.
As time passed on and time grew close,
the bride with eyes that shined,
looked up to see, a man with hate,
The demon in her mind,
he came to kill this angel bride,
a murder he had planned.
Of jealousy, and cruel abuse,
a very violent man!

And as he carried out his plan,
of his tragic feel of hate.
Her friends and family rushed for help,
But it was just too late.
So God had called this angel bride,
in the year of '99.
The trumpets blew,
The skies were clear,
No time to say goodbye.

A vision of white,
A glow so bright,
The angel bride has died,
So sad to see,
And shocked to know,
That it was not her time.

Today we light a candle,
In her honor, in her name.
Gladys Ricart you are remembered
In heaven now, you're safe!
In memory of you, each year we march,
To help those who fight today.
Each push, a shove from those we love,
is simply not the way.

We hope from Heaven, you can see
The changes of the world.
You gave us strength to carry on,
we tend to spread the word.
Live free of fears, relax your mind.
It's all been said and done.
Goodbye sweet angel from above,
we'll see you, in due time!

© Lissette Torres-Gonzalez for Alianza, 2010
In remembrance of Gladys Ricart

This poem was inspired by the Brides March Against Domestic Violence which was created to remember Gladys Ricart, a young woman who was killed by can abusive ex-boyfriend on the day she was to wed someone else.