December 14: 5th Anniversary

Five years now it's been since

A gunman stormed Sandy Hook

And killed twenty-six people there

In a cruel, heinous act that shook

The country--no, that shook the world--

And left everyone asking how

Such an event could occur.

But don't dare mention the sacred cow:

Guns in America and people who

Shouldn’t have them, and heaven forbid

That anyone bring up gun legislation.

We watch as gun lobbyists outbid

The rest of us, who sound the alarm,

Announcing a call to action, while

Legislators sit on their butts,

Afraid to act--refusing to rile

Donors, supporters, their base, and Second

Amendment fanatics, obdurate in

Their uncompromising approach to

An argument that's wearing thin.

Many people will never get over

Their indescribable loss and grief

From something that in America

Has become a recurring motif.

Twenty children and six adults

Were killed at the school. Don't forget.

And what's been done since then, despite

More shootings? Zilch, as of yet!

As we acknowledge the innocent victims

Of Sandy Hook, remember that prayers

Will not suffice as the only solution

For shootings for anybody who cares.

-by Bob B (12-14-17)