The right to bear arms

So many teardrops

So many years of senseless killings

The earth is soaked in blood

“Prayers and thoughts are with you”

Is said again and again

At school, at work, at concerts too

Bullets are buzzing like a swarm of flies

Insanity seems to rule the day

For the right to bear arms

Carries more weight than dead bodies piling up

Your child, sister, brother, parent or friend

Has paid a price most often charged to soldiers

But the war is now on city streets

In classrooms, churches, and everywhere

Who will be the next to die?

Where will the next shooter stand?

The grief, though real, is not enough to reach a cold, hard heart

And sorrows reach across this land in cities, towns, and counties

Where will it lead? When will it stop?

In the arms of first responders

In the land of the “free”

And the home of the brave