Too many

Too many bullets

into too many bodies

placed in too many coffins

buried in too many cemeteries

for too little reason

none of which matter

to the dead or the living

who grieve them

for no reason

would be acceptable

enough to explain

to a mother

to have lost a child

to a brother

who has lost the same

to a community

that has lost hope

that any bullets

will be spent

to protect

the too little

they have too long

fought to call their own

instead of being used

to take too much away

to take away too much dignity

to take away too much justice

to take away too many freedoms

those same over which

too many wars were fought

too many soldiers sent

too many bullets

into too many bodies

in too many coffins

shipped back to

too many countries

for too many reasons

to protect

the too little

they have too long

fought to call their own

to protect dignity

to protect justice

to protect freedoms

they claim are guaranteed

in a country with

not enough stars

and too few stripes

to represent us all

Per request, here is me reading this poem.

http://patrickrhone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Too-many.mp3