I hadn’t planned on posting this week, but something has been on my mind, and I want to share it. I am heartbroken about the young children who died last weekend due to gun violence. Reading about the little girl riding in her mother's car, the boy playing in the yard, the girl visiting her grandma... sad beyond word. The story of the little boy watching fireworks hit me especially hard. How can it be that while I was enjoying fireworks, a child was dying? How many innocent children and families have to suffer before our leaders take action to stop it? Sometimes, it's just too much. This morning, I picked up a pencil and paper. This is what I wrote.
July 4th.
I stood in my backyard
and watched
as fireworks shot
through the night sky,
POP!
POP!
POPPING
into a rainbow of colors—
taking my breath away.
In another city,
in another backyard,
a small boy
watched
as fireworks shot
through the night sky,
POP!
POP!
POP—
from out of nowhere
shots
of a different kind
sliced the summer air
taking
his breath
away
©Linda Kulp Trout
Thank you to Ruth for hosting today's Poetry Friday.
