Stop a Bullet with a Poem

Stop A Bullet with A Poem

If I could stop a bullet with a poem I would. If I could save one life with a poem I would.

I’d throw each word like a disk or a shield aiming straight at bullets from 45s and 22s that has black, white, and brown families singing the blues, singing the blues.

Stop bullet! This poem was sent here to interfere withyour mark of death. If you keep coming there will be nomore black and brown youth left in our neighborhoods. You’re up to no good.

That’s what the first lines would say. That’s the poem'sfirst line of action on the frontline of my poetic mind as I design lines that hope to create national peace or dialog at the tip of every gun or before the fog once the bullets leave that deadly machine.

I want our youth to continue to breathe, to continue to believe life is worth it these days.

I want this poem to go find lethal AK 47s that are finding their way to inner-city Chicago slowing each round down until the three hundred million guns in this country no longer make a sound, a sound.

This is a super poem with nothing like an S on its chest but the best way to prolong another person’s day in the gun-happy U.S. of A.

If I could stop a bullet with a poem I would. If I could save one life with a poem I would. We need solutions so maybe these words are a solution, a contribution.

Poetry for bullets; poetry over bullets; poems over the powerful gun lobby; poetry as a hobby for the teenager who doesn’t have anything else to do after-school but thinks being creative is really cool.

Let us saturate city streets with pens, notebooks. Maybe, just maybe, young people, adults, will take a deep look at their lives and dive into the beautiful music of their souls, the beautiful music of their souls.

I’ll write fifty poems for the fifty people the gunman killed in Nevada. I wish I could have thrown a cloche of poetical protection over those fifty people to beat back the evil in every bullet, in every round; pounding those pellets back that attacked and attacked.

Where are all of the poets at?!

Join me, a poetical Optimus Prime: all of us can write and rhyme until we see new signs of hope ‘Cause hope ain’t livin’ here only no regulations, terror, fear.

If I could stop a bullet with a poem I would. If I could save one life with a poem I would.

If I can show up in a classroom in Columbine or in New Town and say one thing to students Who still might be traumatized I’d say a poem. One that was full of love and hugged each one of them to happiness; kissed their parents on the cheeks; allowed us to sit down to have warm tea or coffee and together prayed for peace.

Peace.

If I could stop a bullet with a poem I would. If I could save one life with a poem I would.

© Christopher D. SimsOctober 16, 2017