Home of the Brave

I wrote this poem when the government was starting to put children in cages. I have modified it in response to the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.

Beautiful for spacious skies,
oh Father hear
your children's cries.
How can we change
the hearts of men
who are addicted to greed,
who glorify guns?
Entrenched in sadness
and filled with fear
when mournful cries fall
on those deaf ears.

We march, we protest,
we pray out loud
with clenched fists
but with heads bowed.
We talk, some listen
yet go on heeding
those vile words,
Lord stop the bleeding.
No child is safe,
the families weep
We’ve lost our way,
we’re in too deep.

Another school shooting?
We are outraged!
We are stunned!
Still more children dying
at the hand
of a gun.
“Pray for the families”
The senators might say
but cast their vote,
they look away.

We are still one nation,
patriots too,
but the air is thick
with political spew.
Have we lost sight
of loving one another,
treating friends and neighbors
like leftover fodder?
Feeling lost and  searching
for answers today
to keep America free
and home of
the brave.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

let's have more guns...second ammendment...guard it with intensity....but to hell with our children who are dying in these shootings...innocent kids who never get the chance to grow up.
This is such a good poem...I feel so angry about all of it....there is a shooting every week...
and most of the time it is in schools...
some education...
j.

[Dara]

It’s a living nightmare. We seem to keep spinning our wheels and in the meantime nothing comes of it. I have a lot of anger building up about it too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Jacob. Writing will not solve the problem but at least it draws attention to it. Take care!

[The_Ancient_Rock]

I got a solution for y'all...

Force them all to smoke a lot of pot!!!

That usually does the trick.

Don't mind me... I'm wasted,

Yes... terrible tragedies.

Real life, real people, real blood... tragedies.

The world at times...

A damn Greek Tragic-Comedy.

[Dara]

I think John Lennon would have agreed with you. ;-)

[The_Ancient_Rock]

Huh... maybe... I don't like John Lennon...

Both him and Paul Mccartney were very disrespectful to all the...

Jewish people and their suffering.

No! A right way to do things and a damn wrong way!!!

See... Dolores Mary O'Riordan... song...

The Cranberries...

I just shot John Lennon!!! And I'm damn proud of it!!!

That's how it goes. ;)

[Betty Hermelee]

a powerful statement of where we are in our country right now, with more mass shootings and more people with guns killing innocent children... we are so divided politically that it will be hard to mend wounds...
and there seems to be no end to this violence.... our leaders who carry guns are cruel and corrupt....
very bold and sad piece Dara, but necessary to get one's feelings out.
Best, B

[Dara]

It is so hard to understand when the immediate answer seems so obvious. I cannot think of a single scenario where a civilian would need to use an assault rifle. Of course there are other factors involved but first we need to stop the ‘bleeding’, literally. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Betty. Take care!

[Betty Hermelee]

You're very welcome Dara!
Best, B

[Robert Haigh]

America is somewhat polarised on the issue of gun laws, it would seem, and both sides are miles apart. I cannot see any easy answer, nor any real compromise. Clearly something needs to be done! As an Englishman, it is easy for me to say that automatic weapons should never be allowed into the hands of civilians, when clearly half of the American people do not agree with me! But when children keep being murdered in what should be the sanctuary of school, urgent action simply must be taken, even though not everyone will be happy.

[Dara]

It is very depressing to me. I don’t even recognize the country as it is turning out to be. Sometimes I wished I had stayed in Canada where I lived in the late 80’s early 90’s. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I pray that this time will be different!

[Travis Gibson (poetic h..]

"Feeling lost and searching/for answers today," exactly describes the state I've been in since this unbelievable incident. Work such as this will keep their voices alive, we can only hope that they will eventually be heard. Thank you for writing this.

[Dara]

You have expressed it so well. The feeling of helplessness is widespread I am sure. After Sandy Hook we thought it would never happen again and yet here we are. I hope my poem reaches people. While it will not be seen by the higher ups. it felt good to vent my feelings. Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Moving and passionately written. These words speak to all those hearts that believe that the right to bear a gun should never outweigh the right for our children to live. Thank you Dara for speaking your thoughts on this vital and important subject that we as a nation struggle to find common ground upon. Despite knowing full well no child should ever have to live in fear for their lives while seeking an education. We need more art like this to remind ourselves why we must fight for the lives of all children.

[Dara]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts too. Writing will unlikely change anything but giving a voice to the ones that were so cruelly silenced may make a difference somewhere. Your support means a lot!