Wearing Bullets

What does it say about Humanity
when all of the most influential people who have said
“go forth and live in peace and harmony”
are usually guinea pigs for the trend of wearing bullets,
having their lives taken by the bullets—
Lincoln
Gandhi
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King Jr.
Medgar Evers
Robert F. Kennedy
John Lennon

and I’d be willing to bet if they had bullets back in 33 AD
there would have been no crucifixion and Jesus
would have been the first one to end up adorned with bullets.

it’s obvious that evil prevails—
part evolution, part imperialism.

the heartless powers that be
need the masses to be in constant conflict
so that they can keep their fingers
gripped tightly on their most precious Control,
a control that can be kept only by never allowing the masses to Unite.

Heath Brougher is the editor-in-chief of Concrete Mist Press. He was the recipient of the 2018 Poet of the Year Award and is a multiple Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee. He has authored twelve books, the most recent of which is Beware the Bourgeois Doomsday Fantasy (Sandy Press, 2024). Read other articles by Heath.