Thoughts & Prayers
This is another poem in my recently released book Dirt Girl. You can find the entire collection on Amazon here, or find the audiobook on Chirp here.
when I was young, I’d sit and watch my father clean his gun
a Winchester 70 he used to hunt deer
I didn’t place guns and fear in the same sentence, then
kept my innocence
when we were young we went to school every day
said the Pledge of Allegiance an American flag hanging from the chalkboard
freedom isn’t free they say
this is the land of the brave home of the great
when we were young Mrs. Johnson gave us popsicles to welcome summer break
red rings of sweetness framing our faces
red like Midwest sunsets
red like a target
red like blood
and we sang God bless America land that I love
when I was young I learned about war in a theoretical sense
learned that my grandfather was in Vietnam and worked on Navy ship
but he never talks about it, he can’t
witnessing murder buries a hurt so deep it bleeds into everything