On the Shooting of a Congresswoman

About the tragic events in Arizona.

On the Shooting of a Congresswoman

 

By Elton Camp

 

(Note:  A person is assumed innocent until proven guilty. 

This is based solely on news reports and does not claim

that the suspect is actually insane or guilty of anything.)

 

Of his insanity, acquaintances knew

Until he acted, there was little to do

If just being crazy were to be a crime,

Prisons would stay filled all the time

 

This poem is not politically correct

I should write about “mental defect”

Some will rebuke me with “Tut, tut”

Because I dared to call a man a nut

 

Words hardly matter to those he shot

Because they were in the wrong spot

Both a judge and a mere young child

Slain by a man who was running wild

 

A college had sense enough to expel

The danger he posed they knew well

There wasn’t enough to lock him away

For the things the man did write and say

 

Most who rant and rave are only cracked

And on their irrational ideas will not act

As much as those murders are lamented,

There was no way they could be prevented

 

In an open society it is simply a must

To those around us to extend some trust

And be thankful for those folks so brave

Who will risk themselves, others to save

 

Should a congressperson have a bodyguard?

To live like that would be extremely hard

To keep meeting constituents they will care

Knowing that such events are extremely rare