When shots are shot and your first thought is your gun and not
The blood on the ground, the blood in the air, the blood on the bullets, the blood of despair
Check yourself, the wreck of yourself, the mess of yourself, the less of yourself
As compassion dies a little each time you say the same words, the very same lines that drip from your lips
Your thoughts and your prayers, such a hollow refrain, always the same, always your claim until nothing remains
But the blood on the ground, the blood in the air, the blood on the bullets, the blood of despair
The screams of the mothers, the fathers, the sisters, the brothers, the families, the friends, cling to each other, their tears never end,
The gun begun trauma ricochets every time, tearing at hearts, every name underlined, each day gone without a change.
No place safe, the fear remains, the anger disdains, the echoes hollow, each cry sustained from shot to shot as each day wanes
With blood on the ground, blood in the air, blood on the bullets, the blood of despair
The anger that follows that builds in the void of the ones they have lost, the ones you avoid in the talk of your guns, the lie of your prayers
Your right to bear arms, as each step on the stairs brings the gun closer to a new target. To whom do you pray, I wonder?
This thought, this prayer ignores that the once alive also had rights, their own pursuits of happiness
Halted,
Midlife.
Stopped.
Murdered.
With blood on the ground, blood in the air, blood on the bullets, the blood of despair
Is this what we want, America? The right to hold a cold, hard, thing meant only for killing in our hands or
Life, liberty and the right to hold our beloved in
Our…bare…arms.
Author's note: Advocating for gun safety and gun control laws is something that many gun owners care about. I started this poem after Uvalde but I have watched and grieved with many as our nation seems politically paralyzed. Guns should not be the leading cause of death for our children. We are not at war. This is preventable. It is August, and we've already had 400 mass shootings this year, 2023. Something has to change. We have more guns than people, if a good guy with a gun was the answer, we would have seen it work already.
About the Creator
Erin W M
Mother of three lovely flames that burn the stars. Two partners that help me keep them fueled with music and laughter. Three cats, one dog and a lemonburst ball python. We are a puzzle of chaos, constantly finding our pieces.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
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Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Comments (5)
This is incredibly well written. Every line drew me in. This was my favourite though: 'The blood on the ground, the blood in the air, the blood on the bullets, the blood of despair.'
Preach it, sister. That desperate need to defend a deliberately blind misreading of an amendment to the constitution all because we want to be able to feel powerful, whether over something or someone else or just for its own sake.
This a beast of a poem. Well done.
This is so powerful and raw. Beautifully written. The last line is beyond perfection 🤍
Powerful, lyrical and beautiful! the repetition is stunning and really drives home the messaged backed by your heartfelt words in the author's notes! Bravo!