Thoughts and Prayers (poem)

 

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(Photo: People magazine)

 

shattered bodies


shattered lives


corpses among the debris


58 dead and 500 wounded


yet we see only


what we desire to see


 


He had to have a reason


gimme something to cling to


this free fall moment


is an act of treason


against well built walls in my mind


designed to keep me safe


 


was he a Muslim,


was he a Christian


was he insane and on a mission


from some far flung God


angry at the city of gold


 


was he sad, was he mad


was he working with half a deck


when he murdered concert goers


shooting fish in a barrel


and injured by the scores?


 


Does it matter? Really?


Does it ever fucking matter?


what the motivations really were


because x continues to equal death


regardless of how the equation is built


 


And here we are


another day that ends in ‘Why?”


struggling to understand


demand and reprimand


while no actions are taken


thoughts and prayers appear aplenty


 


how many dead


does this make now


how many maimed and injured?


what’s the count, now


how many have we hurt


as we gather together once again


because your thoughts and prayers


didn’t work?