Saline
Salt slides from the tear
of any mother’s child whose
orange groves hang heavy
with grief oozed from lips
slit and slaughtered
beyond repair—
Salt-edged tears slip from ears of corn
and glide sideways to gaze
at the watermelon patch,
replete with enforcements
whose hatchlings strut
and stalk, peck and
paw the ground in search of
minerals that will induce
a full measure of life—that will
provide for and savor
the nuances left beyond
their control, beyond
our control—beyond
anyone’s control—
After the carnage,
we hug all children
to ourselves like a bee
hugs the flowers, gathering
honey and shedding pollen
from free-floating organisms
whose only purpose
in life is to provide
the salt for
grief-stricken tears.
~ Annette Gagliardi
Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, wasn’t’ the first elementary school, nor will Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas be the last time innocent children will be killed for no good reason.
“The shooting, which came just 10 days after a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., that took the lives of 10 people, marked the 213th mass shooting in the U.S. since the start of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.” (Guzman Article)
Parents and families mourn, citizens are shocked once again and politicians placate the grief-stricken with platitudes and promises. Those whose sensibilities run toward articulation write letters to the editors around the country. And who can stand for the innocent? Who will do the right thing to end the slaughter of every-day citizens? OF OUR BABIES?
I cannot list the 27 school shootings that have happened in the five first months of this year. I cannot make sense of the senseless. I cannot understand how an 18-year-old gets an assault gun. I cannot live with the litany of death that our country cannot seem to stop.
I cannot fathom how legislators refuse to pass common sense gun laws that would make it much less easy to obtain an assault gun; that would ask gun owners to share the same background information that those seeking a driver’s license share.
In what universe does it say that shooting up innocent children is the way to assuage your angst against society? I cannot make sense of the senseless.
How can we go on, about our lives like nothing has happened? Once again, we shout or cry or rage and then
nothing happens,
until the next time tens of innocent are shot up by someone trying to make a statement with a deadly weapon. This can’t be the way to do it. Killing innocent children can’t be the answer to anyone’s anger.
How can the police force be present and not act? What protocol says attend and observe instead of intervene? I cannot make sense of the senseless.
But I am going to write a letter to every legislator in Congress. I am going to write a letter to the president of the NRA. Let’s figure this out. Let’s at least try to save our babies.
Notes:
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six adults dead.
Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Resources:
Here is a list of the 27 school shootings that have taken place this year by Joseph Guzman, May 26, 2022 at The Hill, at: https://thehill.com
List of School Shootings in the United States, Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States?fbclid=IwAR2qKrMErdyiEd7-tFGwWA_gb8fgKZNsDeUAa2RXsAmr_5-L5xg0b1W4BbY