Wednesday 21 March 2018

Only, In America (March 1, 2018)

Am I
Far too cynical
To believe
Real change
Is possible?

As the headlines scream
Of another student massacre
By an armed gunman
At a U.S. school.

In a nation
That views firearm ownership
As a God given right
Carved in stone
By the U.S. constitution.

Legally
Where anyone can use
50 bullet or bigger magazines
In their semi-automatic rifles
Hunting big game animals
Through urban forests.

Boasting
To whomever
Who’ll read their dreams
And achievements
On social media.

As innocent blood bleeds
Through Angels’ fingers
Over the Elysium.

Their bodies
Barely buried
They're pilloried
As Fake News
Or worse.

Agents provocateur
Seeking the destruction
Of the United States
And it's way of life.

Like Holocaust deniers
These ‘gun righters
Cherry picking the truth
Creating a world filled
With fear and hate
Justifying their existence.

In believing
More guns will solve
This growing epidemic
In American society.

Honestly
Ask yourself.

Will arming teachers
Make the classroom
A safer place?

As the bullets swarm
In the classroom air
Like a disturbed hive
Of angry killer bees
With their deadly stings.

Increasing
The level of MAD*
And chaotic moment
Of engagement
As everyone flees
For safety.

While
Politicians pose
In opportunistic photo-ops
Congratulating themselves
For their decisive action.

And yet
Each new death
Shows the shallowness
And lack of real leadership
From the political class.

Sadly
Only the death
Of the United States President
By an assassin’s bullet
Will produce
Any real lasting change
In American gun laws.

*MAD: Mutual Assured Death

Therisa © 2018

Author's note: No need to say anything more.

3 comments:

Sherry Blue Sky said...

The latest shooting has really occupied my thoughts ever since. I am proud of the young people rising, saying enough is enough. You have addressed this topic well, making such good points. We have youthful idealism (and common sense) against the power and might of money and corporations and organizations that have a lot of power. A David and Goliath situation. But the one weapon the young - and the rest of us - have that can bring about change is the vote. Let's hope everyone uses it, and that the results are not rigged in favour of more of the same. Big hope.

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

Not even that would do it; they (the ubiquitous They) would only say his Secret Service guards should have been better armed or quicker on the draw. The rest of the world thinks the USA crazy not to institute gun reform laws, which have worked in other countries including mine – but I have finally understood that it would be far more difficult to bring about in the US as gun ownership is so widespread there that it wouldn't work the same way anyhow. :(

kaykuala said...

By an assassin’s bullet
Will produce
Any real lasting change
In American gun laws.

There is anger here which seems to have been unduly ignored but not forgotten. Individual rights as opposed to public safety! Which should come first? Great take Therisa!

Hank

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