how that didn't happen in poetry

after a tragedy, you can either say
“this should never happen to ME again” or “this should never happen to ANYONE again”
choose the latter

the fact we didn’t start up local city forges to melt down all of the murder sticks
after Sandy Hook happened still mystifies me
take all the uzis and shotguns and side-arms smelt them down into jungle gyms
for all those kids whose very lives were saved by no longer having guns around for madmen
jungle gyms on which those beautiful kids could play
I don’t get how that didn’t happen

after a tragedy, you can either say
“this should never happen to ME again” or “this should never happen to ANYONE again”
choose the latter

the fact we didn’t start up local city forges to melt down all of the murder sticks
after Orlando Pulse happened still mystifies me
take all the pistols and AKs and twenty-twos make them into metal industrial structures
for all those people whose very lives were saved by no longer having guns around for madmen
cool art to dance around in bars that happen to be gay
I don’t get how that didn’t happen

after a tragedy, you can either say
“this should never happen to ME again” or “this should never happen to ANYONE again”
choose the latter

the fact we didn’t start up local city forges to melt down all of the murder sticks
after Columbine happened still mystifies me
the glocks and stocks and smoking barrels made scaffolding for b-ball courts and drama stages
for all those people whose very lives were saved by no longer having guns around for madmen
good clean fun and expression after the school day
I don’t get how that didn’t happen

after a tragedy, you can either say
“this should never happen to ME again” or “this should never happen to ANYONE again”
choose the latter

because after all these things but especially after Sandy Hook, for God’s sake
everyone knew that Sandy Hook meant, no, there is no way that our gun culture as it stood
could be considered moral ethical sane coherent or anything other than monstrous
when all those kids could be mowed down like blades of grass
nothing could be right about a system that let that happen and so
they bought the lies of snake-oil salesmen who claimed it didn’t happen at all
that the children were made up that it was all a fake teevee show like The Apprentice
it was so abhorrent, so unthinkable, so incompatible with any kind of loving heart
that they chose the most ridiculous lie in the world instead
and so here we are now

who could ever want that, what kind of madman could ever want that
that total arbitrary capricious random power to end a life at a button’s press like that?
I would rather die than shoulder such a terrible all-encompassing all-corrupting responsibility
who could ever want that?

the fact we didn’t start up local city forges to melt down all the murder sticks
after my cousin Al was murdered still mystifies me
just because people wanted their “right to bear arms” so inviolable
that a mentally ill man was able to get his hands on a shotgun
which happens to some family in America every single day many times
I don’t get how we can let that happen
just because a few assholes want to pretend that they’re cowboys
I don’t get how we can let that happen
just because the gun manufacturing lobby can bribe so many people
I don’t get how we can let that happen
just because people don’t understand how their illusion of personal safety
in owning an instant murder-button that makes everyone less safe
that is actually killing us more and more every year
I don’t get how we can let that happen

we’re not ready as people
for the ability to kill on command
we’re just animals, we can’t fully understand
if you think you’re well-trained
one day you might go crazy
if you think you’ve got it safely locked away
one day it won’t be
if you think your neighbors are out to kill you
go see a shrink, your neighbors are out to buy groceries

I don’t know how we haven;t melted them down for jungle gyms
disarm
disarm disarm disarm
I don’t know how that didn’t happen yet

after a tragedy, you can either say
“this should never happen to ME again” or
“this should never happen to ANYONE again”
choose the latter
you should ALWAYS choose the latter

Last updated June 19, 2017