Some of us need to just talk
After the good’s been shattered.
Some of us need to be silent
Some of us need to weep.
Take what you need to heal now
All of us need to heal
Here in the broken circle of grace,
Take what you need to heal

Words and music by Bret Hesla. 
© 2026 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. 
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com. 

So many people in Minnesota have been traumatized by the illegal rampaging of federal ICE agents throughout our cities and towns.

The evening after Alex Pretti was murdered by ICE agents, there was a call for city-wide candlelight vigils — neighbors gathering in small groups at the end of each block throughout the city, at 7pm. As we were doing ours, ten or twelve of us in the dark, a black SUV drove by slowly, and stopped on the other side of the street. We watched as the door opened and a Somali woman got out, looked both ways, and walked toward us. We called out welcome, join us. She walked into the center of our little circle and started sobbing. Just sobbing. A few of our women hugged her as she wept. After two or three minutes, she left, got back in her car, and drove away.

This song is for the healing, however that might begin to happen in moments between the incidents of terror and abduction, in the linking of arms with neighbors, both friends and strangers.