Bullet Points Over Gun Points

Warranted, a moment of silence

supporting what Heaven forbids

senseless, needless acts of violence

against the nation’s youth, our kids

*

firearms unloaded in a should-be safe haven

an institution of learning for tomorrow’s leaders

children killing children, lifeline’s shaven

guns without voices silence half-readied readers

*

emotional triggers paired with trigger fingers

a babe holding a weapon does not know its full weight

bullied, shunned; gunned to salve what lingers

full realization unrealized when fired — it’s too late

*

bodies fallen, random, chosen; friend, foe, other

screams, scatters, glass shatters, humans pleading

hiding, biding time, cell phones dialing for mothers

families mourn losses; hardware continues breeding

*

blame game, finger points, social media hype

solves not one damn thing; preparing the next round

eye off the ball, more will fall; many focused on “type”

while the real offenders, guns, in backgrounds — sound

*

easily unshelved guns meet hard-shelled issues

hand grenades and adolescence, a guaranteed fail

funeral processions, communities’ tear-stained tissues

while head nods ponder the delta versus alpha male

*

yet humanity continues to fail tomorrow’s youth

America the Great sounds a bit twisted; overrated

hand on hips, official “scripts”, eye blinks at the truth

to say this country has a problem is grossly underrated

*

our hate to human ratio seeps swiftly into saturation

minus grains of salt needed in the right to bear arms

strapped and prepared hysteria, a deadly infatuation

pistols, revolvers, sold like candy; have and hold harms

*

forget at the state level, this is a nationwide crisis

we all die a little more with each free-fired round

governmental gaslighting; unlawful grips and vices

while our children lay lifeless six feet underground

*

what will it take for our officials to rise to the occasion

will anticipated law reforms crinkle and simply collect dust

time bides yet death trumps our most solemn equation

fast-forward humanity; did we keep on resisting or finally adjust

©Marilyn Glover

My poem, Bullet Points Over Gun Points, is dedicated to all the victims of our nation’s latest shooting that occurred yesterday morning at Iowa’s Perry High School.

A community grieves and searches for answers as more information unfolds regarding a seventeen-year-old shooter who killed a 6th-grade student and injured 5 others before suffering a lethal self-inflicted gun wound.

Although I live many miles from the incident, I was deeply affected. As an Albany, New York resident, I live in a neighborhood surrounded by countless and senseless gun violence with multiple incidents occurring only minutes from my home on Christmas morning.

I’ve seen many disturbing things on social media regarding the Perry High School incident, including false photos circulating regarding the shooter’s gender/identity, and other presumptions by the ill-informed. It’s sickening to see outrage so easily directed at people, strangers, finger-pointing, and hateful language when the bigger tragedy is that two people died needlessly.

Mental health is a real problem and no, no one should have to die, not the one suffering or the unaware, innocent victims, but easily accessible guns enable scenarios with dire consequences. Of course, more news will follow as officials delve deeper into the shootings, but all I can do is shake my head and wonder when will enough be enough.

Our children dying, our people are dying; wake up lawmakers, wake up government officials, wake up, world!

originally published on Medium 01/05/2024