When life becomes hollow and empty

and mothers are driven to their knees,

with broken hearts and crushed souls

as the children are placed in unnecessary coffins,

it is long past the time to cease the carnage.

There he is.

Buried beside his grandmother,

slain by another fancy man,

swallowed beneath the green grass

turned brown, covered over by pointless fate.

When life becomes like the bloated carcass of a dog,

rotting in the street,

we need courage to stop the madness,

or pray hard to your god,

that it is not your child who is the next

to be shot in the face by a crazy

with an AR-15

Never underestimate the power of human cruelty