How many times
Does this scene
Have to be repeated
Before the NRA finally is defeated
This pathology is
Apparently deep-seated
Although that’s not the way
That we usually treat it

How many times
Must these shootings
Become breaking news
Or we hear the refuting of people who refuse
To give an inch on gun control
Despite those that we lose
We pay the consequences of
The choices that we choose

How many times
Are we prepared
To do the same old thing
We’ve all heard the stories
There’s a familiar ring
We’re practicing insanity
When will we feel the sting
Of what our inaction usually tends to bring

How many times
Must we hear the urgency of this message
Or be forced to rummage through
The aftermath and wreckage
Of lost and wounded lives
Whose sacrifice beckons
Us to make some changes
In these remaining seconds

Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2015. All rights reserved.