HEAVY HEADLINES

 

When did gun violence become
A headline we are accustomed to?
When did parents start to become
Fearful to send their children to school?

“Don’t bring your bookbags 
To school today.
We got it covered on the inside.”
Unbeknownst to us
Someone planned a way
To bring trouble from the outside

The death tolls keep rising
Loved ones keep crying
Politicians keep fighting
Stone-cold truth ain’t lying

Saying “I love you” should trump
Indecision
Tension
Division

What atmosphere are we breathing?
What values are we breading?
What truths are we believing?
Whose hearts are we deceiving?

Random acts of kindness should trump
Premeditated silence
Calculated defiance
Indoctrinated misguidance

The aftermath felt in waves
Deaf ears still enslaved
Speeches meant to persuade
White flowers rest on tiny graves

Joyous days turned into
Dreadful nights
Celebrations turned into
Candle lights

The sun still rises and sets each day
The clouds form and then drift away
Time tracks each breath we take
The clock keeps ticking time away

How can the wrongs be made right?
Will this always be an endless plight?
What must we do to change the headline?
When voices remain silent on the left and the right

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Shuntrela Rogers-Gillion©