Santa Monica College:
Carnage & Innocence
I was two blocks away
too close to the fray
repairing my car
to take me far — away from
gunfire on a sweet campus
set for finals the last day
but now to pray
for life --
no longer a final A
from a brilliant essay
students facing a lone gunman
dressed in black
taking his time
to clear the track
of painful memories
A divorce in progress
his parents together no more
so he must wipe out others
to even the score
Helicopters buzzing
the tropical California sky
fire trucks, police cars who endlessly try
remedies for the situation
scenarios like those that have overtaken our nation
glorifying violence birthed for a profit
and to entertain youth unequipped
to stop it — ignorantly obsessed —
who cannot differentiate
between precious life
and the depiction of death on a screen
that lasts but a moment
then — back to fantasy
so the truth is not seen
the carnage, the pain, the inner scream.
Obama is left waiting
at a fundraising event
since gun sales continued
with supplies to the decadent.
An impasse in Congress
leaves bodies to bless
and few apologies offered for duress.
Futures now ruined by life distorted
from a killer secretly aided and escorted
by our government whose values
no longer protect — with actions misspent
while gun sales soar against the innocent.
My car takes me away
but what of those ambushed that day?
Best wishes.
Elizabeth Scher
Santa Monica