dark the day and clouded
there are tears on the windowpane
rain on the roses
bowed heads
umbrellas on the hillside
somber my trembled heartbeat
tragedy of youth crushed like burnt embers
beneath strident boots
marching past reason
toward shadowed profit
uncaring of human cost
make no mistake
the risk is known
the outcome stark and clear
yet those who profit
do not care
do not care
that she will never rise again
never cradle her little ones
never finish her education
never walk free of addiction
so the tragedy is thousandfold
it rings out across the rainswept hillside
in peals of accusation
handless armless tongueless tears
of frustration
lets awaken