When did murder become a question
Without a clear answer
When did the line between right and wrong grow hazy
In the thick fog of corruption
When did it become okay
To kill and hurt
The innocent
When did we decide
That the rules don’t apply to everybody
How can we rise
When we are forced to our knees
How can we fight
When we are broken and bound
How can we change the world
With our voices and our words
If the world
Will not listen
How can we stand
Who decided that some people are never wrong
And some will never be right
Who made us think
It was okay to be submissive
To grovel in the dirt because we are weak
And they are strong
Who changed the world
Twisted it and bent it
Into a path of lies and hate
What can we do
To change the minds of people who won’t listen
What started this mess,
The gun or the person who held it
What closed the eyes
Of the people
Who promised that they would never be blinded
What made it okay
To stray from our promised freedoms
Where do we begin
When we try to change the world
Where is the place where the sun rises and sets
Over peace but not fear
Where is that one person who will rise
And stand to save us
Where is the light
Still just a little bit brighter
At the end of the tunnel
Why are we still kneeling
When people need us to stand
Why are you still staying silent
When people need your voice
Why are your eyes closed
When they could be wide open
Seeing the world for what it is
And for what it should become
Why are we still waiting
Is the leap still too far?
Do more people need to die
To open up the eyes
Of people everywhere?
Are we going to forget them,
The faces that should be remembered
The faces of those who are gone
Because of a bullet
A gun
A shot
A silence
And a hole that can never be filled
Not within me
Or you
Their family
Their friends
Their chest,
where the bullet hit
Will you forget?
Ann Richards
7
