Shadows in America

Dedicated to Heather Heyer

Shadows can trick us, may play with our eyes

They flee from our candles, and poison with lies

We damn them to scurry back whither they came

But then they transform and take on new names

Some say the shadows come armored in steel

Their blades are out sharpened and ready to kill

They shout out their targets, their visions laid bare

Guns rattle, flags flapper, the enemy’s there

Shadows are cunning though, and never so clear

They’re less the footsoldier and more puppeteer

You can’t pin them down, can’t cage them at all

They’ve found the best refuge in the heart of men’s souls

Now the monster we fought and slayed so long ago

Has leaked from the grave in the most fearful shadow

The fumes have polluted our lands and our thoughts

And it’s seemed we’ve forgotten the hell that it brought

But the hell came to earth for a moment today

The shadow scored victory from where it had lay

Damned its disciples, the path that they’ve taken

Has torn their humanity and left them forsaken

And the shadow rejoiced in the actions of wrath

An innocent, fallen, struck down in hate’s path

Who realized the shadow, and wanted to fight

And knew that the best way was shedding some light

She was simply a person, just like any other

You could have been father, or I have been brother

A frail human person, but more than her sum

Her conviction compelled her to stay and not run

To family, I hope dearly you’re given the grace

To mourn and be given some reverent space

To the killer, I implore you to think of your ways

And find a better use of the rest of your days

And to all others who read this, I ask for your ear

I’ll whisper the weakness of shadows quite clear:

The reason they shapeshift and never persist

Is because they thrive stronger when they unknown exist