Decapitated

The children were pulverized, decapitated,
Their flesh was ripped apart.
This is the land of the free,
And the home of the brave.
Good guys with guns waited an hour.
19 students and 2 teachers were murdered.

The children were pulverized, decapitated,
Their flesh was ripped apart.
We need AR-15 rifles to kill prairie dogs.
We need AR-15 rifles because they are semi-automatic.
11-year-old Miah covered herself in her dead friend’s
Blood to stay alive.

The children were pulverized, decapitated,
Their flesh was ripped apart.
If more Americans own AR-15s, SCOTUS will
Think they’re for common use.
You can help prepare young Americans for
Military service if you are skilled with an AR-15.

The children were pulverized, decapitated,
Their flesh was ripped apart.
100 rounds were fired into 2 classrooms
Students called 911
Parents begged police to charge the school.
Good guys with guns waited an hour.
19 students and 2 teachers were murdered.
17 children and adults were injured.

In America, guns, and violence
are the answers to every problem.
In America, violence means
You never need to find a solution.
The solution is always violence.
If violence solves nothing,
It’s because more violence is required.
The children were pulverized, decapitated,
Their flesh was ripped apart.

Thomas Wells’s poetry book Complexions of Being was published by Yorkshire Publishing in 2022. His poetry credits also include Caesura Journal, PS: It’s Poetry, Vols. I & II, an international poetry anthology, Dissident Voice, The Magnolia Review, The Opiate, and Tuck Magazine. Over several decades, his poems have appeared in Visions International, Cafeteria, Gargoyle, and West End Magazine. In 1982, he published his first chapbook of poetry titled "Native Steel" through Black Buzzard Press. He is a member of The Poetry Center of San Jose, California. Read other articles by Thomas.