Vigil - A Poem of American Crisis (Mass Shootings)

Vigil

(A Poem of American Crisis)

by

Sharee Anne Gorman

rows of cameras roll

in silent running

recording for posterity the

scattered points of light

clustering steadily into

pools of brightly-lit

umbrellas

unintended Chinese lanterns

gathered in grief

feeling very much the intruders

news crews bear witness to

a community in shock

humbled and shaken

they shiver at the sight of

orphaned parents protecting

the fragile flames of their

dwindling, yet somehow eternal,

remembrance candles

sodden handkerchiefs

are folded and refolded

by owners searching desperately

for unused corners to dry

chapped and moistened cheeks

sleeves serving almost as well

for the less prepared

while those who stand

stone-faced and stubborn

leave tears unchecked to

find their own course

numbly offering up body salts

to the soggy ground beneath

unsteady feet

we’ve stopped asking “why”

“why” has lost all meaning

but the words “enough”

and “no more”

are quickly gaining

ground

we don’t care anymore

if it’s the guns

the video games

the horror movies

or the meds…

those are just the symptoms

of an over-sold and

misspent culture

…we just want it to stop…

to understand the

reflection in this mirror

of our collective conscience

…the mirror to our madness…

a reflection that has become

a vigil

in its own right

12/17/12

©2012shareeannegorman

(annienomad~cyberpoet)