and the children didn't live long
a gunman cut them down
the innocent
the trusting
all taken away
by a spray of bullets
on that abysmal day

they'd not grow to adulthood
no life span for them
the sadness
of parents and a community
did over the years
extend
never to be erased from the heart
their cherub faces

and the gun left a scar
a terrible reminded
of the children's life stories
which would never be told