Thursday, May 26, 2022

Again & Again & Again & So On

 Again & Again & Again & So On

 

Ten years ago I wrote a poem

about elementary school children slaughtered

in their classroom.

Today I am writing the same poem.

 

Anytime I hear of death by bullets

I imagine a bullet ripping through a thick layer of flesh,

barreling through tough muscle,

hitting a sturdy bone.

 

That’s not what happened

in that, excuse me, those schools.

I can’t write the words,

my brain won’t let me imagine

those bullets anywhere near those small bodies.

All that’s in my mind,

all that has been since we learned the detail,

are families who had to supply their DNA

to match one of those small bodies

unidentifiable from the barrage of bullets

from a gun designed only to kill humans.

 

In the USA, the NRA reigns supreme

above the lives of citizens

no matter what age,

above decency and logical thinking,

above the dignity of a nation.


*****

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