Where You Stand

The shots rang out in the mountaintops
echoing from over 1,000 miles away.
Souls still freshly bruised and broken from life
now walk upon that glacial lake.

They mingle with all the innocents
that history, herstory, our story
have ripped away.

Their blood stains the streets, the stores, the schools,
the malls, the bars, the yoga mats,
the festivals, the concerts, the movie theaters,
the churches, the synagogues, the mosques.

And. Our. Hands.

Blood stains where you stood when you first heard the news
and where you stand each day thereafter.

The death toll rises
but still you stand
holding the second amendment in your hand
wrapping it around your chest
and your heart and your head
– impenetrable –
like a bulletproof vest.

Or a bulletproof backpack.

Hanging this amendment over our schools
and the bodies of our children.
Like the American flag
over a casket
as if it protects them.

You’ll fold your hands and pray
and legislate for Trust in God to take this away.
He’s way too much like us, you know,
– this God –
selectively choosing who He loves.

I’ll join you and fold my hands and pray too.
You to your God and to the Constitution.
Me, to the souls of our children
begging for forgiveness.

Then I will pray for you to find courage.
What change are you so afraid of?

Whatever you claim it to be
and whatever it really is –
It’s not of your fellow countrymen being shot dead
where you stand
with the second amendment in your hand.

By: JM Guzzetti

You can support #GunSense in America at https://everytown.org.