Regarding the column “In darkest day, in blackest night” by Kiyoshi Martinez: I read with somber interest the column about the London bombing. The author very eloquently described the horror and sadness I, too, felt when I heard the news.

I was intrigued by the title of the column and by the final line: “In darkest day, in blackest night… let no evil escape our sight.” It sounded so familiar to me-a poem I had read years ago? So I Googled it and found the original version I had read in my teen years:

“In brightest day, in blackest night,

no evil shall escape my sight!

Let those who worship evil’s might,

beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”

Yes, a comic book hero used these words, but this is so appropriate to the times today. We must not allow the evil that these terrorists perpetrate on innocent people. We must not let them hide, either in plain sight or in the darkest corners of this planet. We must bring them to justice and hold them accountable for their murders so that no more innocent people die for their twisted pleasure.

If I could change this “Green Lantern Oath” to fit modern times, I would change the final line to “beware my power… freedom’s light!” Freedom’s light will never go out as long as we keep it alive. Those who know only to hate and murder don’t understand that. Freedom comes from our heart and soul, and that cannot be taken away by terrorists if we don’t allow it.

Thank you, Kiyoshi Martinez, for expressing what many of us feel at this terrible time.

Mary Dulaney

Cissna Park, IL