Midnight Ramblings

Unnamed

I taught you day in, day out.

Preparing you for a future you

                                                                   will

                                                                               never

                                                                                                                                                                                         see.

I should have taught you to be bulletproof.

~~~~~~

My mom is a teacher in the city of cleveland, and she wrote this poem after one of her boys was murdered. We have seen more gun deaths in her school than in the past five years. Why? Do we not respect human life anymore?! Is a human so worthless now that there is no hesitation in taking someone's life? Those boys mothers have lost their son. Women who I have known my whole and have never seen cry were wailing. Men who have always stood strong, crumbled.

One boys little brother kept asking, "why is he sleeping? Why won't he wake up? We were supposed to play soccer tomorrow." He is five! How the hell are we supposed to tell him his big brother, his north star of his sky, is never going to kick a ball to him again? He's never going to laugh with him again? 

I used to be so happy to be able to say I'm from Cleveland. Now? I'm ashamed. Only because you have no idea what happens to the family after you pull the trigger.

I want you, even if it was for a day, even if it was just the five minutes after that family finds out there darling child has been murdered, to see the devastation you leave behind.