Oceans of tears
are not enough
to ease this burn:
a white hand
pulled a trigger
and the life-breath
of children
were shortened.
At graveside goodbyes
cries for “gun control”
or “mental health reform.”
No one is able to listen—
grief goes unexamined
and trauma is the soil
of our commonwealth.
America! America!
Land of skulls and ashes,
how long will you ignore
your addiction to violence?
Fear of others and
fields of blood and
your crown is underwater—
powerlessness
is the pathway
to recovery.
D.C.F.
