STOP

The new normal

turning into the cities

girls are throwing up

on public stage

their scarred guts

shaking ground

daring the Capitol

 

1,2,10 – clap,clap clap, clap clap clap

echoing heartbeats, novice sounds

bellow into the veins of adults

 

watch out, ruling voices

the tsunami is building

into a furious wave

bigger, taller, uglier

in its beauty

than all your ugliness

and louder than your

tweets or your rants

 

streets are cautiously

watching as passion

takes over their crossroads

and traffic lights, are blinking

to pause and learn as

a 9-year-old walks past

into the future of change

 

art on walls transformed

today

there were bullet shells

used instead of chalk sticks

the color of drawings

red with blood

green with horror

reflecting the colors

of fear, anger, shame

 

holding dying friends

burying dead children

in backyards of homes

a grieving father

dropped the wet mud

from the burial ground

that he carried in his soles

as a gory ghost to haunt

the pristine front yard

of the White House

 

welcome to the revolution

was stitched together

today,

with streaming tears

interlocked fingers

heads on shoulders

arms around arms

thirsty throats and

trembling voices

 

a whimper in the classroom

a beep on the phone

a stifled scream

coming together

now a loud gurgle

of questions

and promises

 

assaulting with words

the loudest sound

that went viral

breaking through

protective pretense

and layered ignorance

to become an epidemic

 

enough is enough