They are my world
My heart smiles every day
When I get to hug my little boy and girl
Their tears are tiny knives,
That stab me as they fall
I feel their pain any time they hurt
Emotional or physical
We drop them off each morning
And they shuffle off to class
A quick embrace as we say “I love you”
Thinking, “They grow up so damn fast!”
But you know what else we’re thinking
As they disappear inside?
That fleeting hug might have been the final time
We saw our babies alive
I see the flag above me
Though it sways at just half mast
As the lump in my throat wells up
I’m reminded of shootings past
I hear the screams of children
From Sandy Hook to Robb
Families shattered in an instant
I pound the dash and sob
And as we drive off slowly
We see the officer and nod
All asking ourselves rhetorically
Can this one cop really protect our children? Oh, dear god!
I still remember vividly a month or so ago
“How was your day?” We asked her…and this is what she said
After lunch today we did an active shooter drill
We all hid in the closet; they called it a code red
Like a dystopian A Few Good Men
Though no one ordered this Code Red
I can’t handle the truth
Little children end up dead
This is our new normal
Helplessly we pray
That the lead story on the news tonight
Won’t mention our kids’ school’s name
And we hold our children tighter
We squeeze them till it hurts
Trying anything we can
To drown out the breaking news alerts
There’s no escaping our lot in life
Shirley Jackson’s Lottery presides
A sigh of relief every peaceful day
But fear and dread cloud our minds
Because tomorrow or the next day
Another school will suffer
Thoughts and prayers will not suffice
We need leadership that’s tougher
America the beautiful
America the great
What our nation’s best at
Is enabling mass murder and breeding generational hate
I beg our elected leaders
A band of hypocrites and cowards, all
To grow a pair collectively
And stop acting so appalled
You can stop the bleeding
The senseless butchering and slaughter
The time is now, so fucking do it
For our sons and for our daughters!
Hoping for a better tomorrow,
IDROS
idontrollonshabbas 