It is a flash of light and metal,
The chop of a guillotine
Exploding through the lens of a camera.

Severed arteries spray blood through the gutters,
Broken limbs and powdered bone
A pain that reverberates through television screens
And is felt across the globe.

The clamour of film crews in the aftermath,
The twisted steel and burnt lungs
Caught by shaking hands
Soon carted off on a stretcher.

It is a time for Americans they say,
The white boy in the oxygen mask,
The chaos and the broken glass
And a woman laid out on her back.

The flags will ascend and the band will play,
Tears will be shed and the choir will pray.
But with every minority that shall be blamed,
It is a time for humanity, I say.