Thoughts & Prayers

[Listen to an audio version of this poem here.]

This poem is not based on a true story. It is a poem. It is a story.

Like everyone, I am gutted from the most recent school shooting. I am numb to the atrocities of a country where such violence is not uncommon. I think a lot of us feel like we should say something, but what? Like we should do something, but how? It seems uncomplicated to ban assault weapons. To implement more stringent background checks for the most deadly of guns, and yet. Not everyone should have a gun, and no civilian should have an assault rifle. Just like not everybody should be able to drive a car. The insanity of ignoring the obvious is infuriating.

We say it is a mental health issue, while making mental health care expensive and inaccessible to the very people who need it most. We say it’s not the gun, it’s the shooter, ignoring the fact that without the weapon, the shooter is unequipped to shoot. We say we care about the lives of everyone, yet we dangle in a void, wondering what can be done. In feeling powerless to change anything, I turned to poetry. Not because it helps anyone, but because sometimes, words are all we have. And sometimes, words matter.

Thoughts & Prayers

when I was young

I’d sit and watch my father