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Previous Post
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Feb 27
poem
BloodMoon825

For your country

Three destinct gunshots.
More.
One after another.
The glass shatters.
Screams rattle my brain.
Crimson soaks the floor.

I know one of them,
my biology partner.
Blood erupts from his shoulder.
The other,
on the cheerleading team.
Blood creeps down her neck.
Her hair is soaked.

My shoes are splattered.
Tears stream down my face.

It's one of those things you never expect to happen,
then it does.


We are all out.
We find our parents among the crowd.
My mother is crying.
She holds me tight.

And I see her dad.
The one on the cheerleading team.
He is on his knees.
No!
he cries.
He is drowned out by the chaos.

And I cry on my mothers shoulder.
For her.
For everyone.

Two days later,
I see Emma on YouTube.
School is off for the week.

I listen,
tears cascade.
I listen carefully.
To spitting out
our president's defense,
"I send my prayers and condolences"
What has he done?
How has he shown that he even cares?

To
"We knew this kid, okay? You didn't!"

If only you had listened.
If only you hadn't rejected Obama's strict gun control laws.
You,
Mr. President.
And you weren't there.
You have kids.
And can you tell me
you didn't take into account
knowing that seventeen families
had to kiss their sons and daughters
goodbye.
You don't know the grief.
You don't know the number of forever shaken victims.
You don't know the innocent students that were taken away from their lives.

You don't know our country.

For all your appologies.
Those hopless attempts that will calm everyone.
Why are their speeches, debates, marches?
This is calm?
Why are the kids taking charge?

For everything,
you heard Emma.
We
call
BS!

You cannot honestly think
anything
could replace what we have lost.
And your time is running out,
so give us a reason.
To trust you.
To make us feel safe.

Because right now,
we are falling apart.

And I wish
I could say
it isn't your fault,
but I would be lying.

I wish
the hundreds of people
all standing with you
have not been a part of this tragety.
I wish 
they had thought of the seventeen who are dead,
and the many that will follow,
if we don't do something.

It is not, in all,
completely you,
who made the mistakes
that lead to this event.
But it is up to you.
As the face of our country,
you must stand with me,
and the millions who beg.

Make our face
what it could be.
And do something,
anything,
for your country.


*I want to say, I am not a student at Marjory Douglas High School, nor do I live in Florida. But I've used what I know from the news to construct this poem.
 
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Posted: 02.27.18
About the Author: BloodMoon825
"I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
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Discussion

Comments

  1. BloodMoon825
    Feb 27, 2018

    Also, please comment title suggestions and better ways to wrap the whole thing up. These are both the weakest parts of the poem--for the title I just used the closing line.

    "I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."
    - Voltaire

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  1. Love to write
    Feb 27, 2018

    Personally, I think both the title and the ending work well together.

    Life is not a paragraph.

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  1. BloodMoon825
    Feb 28, 2018

    Thank you!

    "I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."
    - Voltaire

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  1. gg
    Mar 01, 2018

    BloodMoon,
    this is a powerful piece and I appreciated the note at the bottom -- transparency gives credibility and you have a right to empathize, imagine, speak out on something that you have not experienced. Well done.

    In terms of the ending, I agree that it is the weakest part, though I have to say this is a strong poem. Weak is relative. It can stand. But, perhaps, you might want to broaden it -- to not just single out Trump but to widen it, to take into all the dozens and hundreds of politicians that resist any kind of change under the mantle, slogan, of protecting the 2nd amendment. Because that's the point you are making: Do something. And it's going to take a lot of people to do that.

    Hope that helps. Thanks for sharing this. gg

    Writer. YWP founder. Current work: https://geoffreygevalt.com/hiramfalls
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  1. BloodMoon825
    Mar 05, 2018

    Thank you! I will edit straight away!

    "I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."
    - Voltaire

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  1. BloodMoon825
    Mar 05, 2018

    I'm not sure if I strengthened it as much as intended, so anybody is welcome to give more suggestions regarding the ending of the piece. But thank you, gg!

    "I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."
    - Voltaire

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  1. gg
    Mar 08, 2018

    It is stronger. Nicely done.

    Writer. YWP founder. Current work: https://geoffreygevalt.com/hiramfalls
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