Be vigilant. The dark is coming.
'Stay silent' he said. They almost listened.

'Wrap yourself in the coldness
of our words' and in his voice was
a touch of danger.

They almost fell. Almost gave in.
The world became like a glacier
of shapes. Always seeking to fit
within the assorted mess of notions
and opinions.

'Forget grace' they told us.
'Praise hate' they commanded us.
'Love death' they spoke in unison.

But... we are not a wall to be broken
down on your insistence.

We are not a voice to be calmed
just because you think you are a storm.

Should we be silent against the false
preachers of lies and guile? Or
are we going to stand firm, each
life a block against the tides of
stoic insistence?

We will not shame ourselves any longer.
Our voice will be like God's own voice.
Our rhythm will fall into truth.
Our form will fly into the sky,
abandoning your need to satisfy the
greedy and lazy digits of material
plains of death and destruction.

Ah... tell us to shut up one more time.
See then how loud our words can go.

“I rebel; therefore I exist.”
― Albert Camus

The herd live normal lives.
What's a normal life?

Isn't it to taste again a retrieved piece of last night's meal from between one's teeth?
Isn't it an old lover, shriveled and lame, trying to re-experience the ecstasy of his first teen love but lost long ago?
Isn't it to rekindle a calling when passion has grown cold?

A normal is an old movie.
A normal is stale saliva.
A normal is stable center on a spinning wheel.

A normal offers a shelter, but no home.
A normal binds two together, but no love.
A normal sustains life, even luxuries, but no joy.

A rebel lives beyond.
He is fluid nothing.
His home is anxiety.

Only Zeus is immovably still, unchanging silence.
Out of boredom, he creates time.
A rebel is a ******* infant of Chronos.

So lets get this straight:
An armed, white man walks into a school,
kills 17 students and teachers with a tool
that can be bought at just any store
by a 19 year old, insane, fool,
before being caught, all on Valentine's day,
Marking the 30th mass shooting just this year
And it's not time to talk about gun control?

If they had been black, you'd say "more police"
If they had been Mexican, you'd say "build a wall"
If they had been Middle-Eastern, you'd say "travel ban"
But they're not, they're white, they're mentally ill,
so "Report the disturbed" our president says
"It's about mental health!" our congress says
"But it's not time to talk about gun control"

You send your thoughts and prayers,
while we're pleading for your help
You want to know my thoughts and prayers?
I thought our country cared about us
I thought our country loved us more than guns
And I pray that my school won't be next
That my friends won't be mourned on the internet
That we might be safe in our unsafe unchanging world
Because you won't talk about gun control

But you know what?

***** you if you think that's all we're gonna do
We're taking this horse by the reigns
Knock some sense into that old brain
We're organizing, rising up and wising up
Taking a stand, and taking a walk
Making our voices heard, better watch for that 10 o' clock
We will not be complacent in our friends' deaths
We've done it before and we will do it again
They say "when we're older"
I say "why wait till then"
These laws are going to change now
These deaths have got to be dwindling down
Everyone knows kids can be one loud crowd
And no, we won't calm down
Until no one ignores our outraged sound
We will make the politicians come around
And finally, gun control will bring peace to our towns

And finally, me, my family, and my friends, can feel safe, with long lives ahead,
and we can go back to school together again.