Unfortunately, we were all given another reason to think about gun violence in America this weekend. A couple projects I am working on deal with gun violence, but today I thought up this poem. It is personal, and I hope it honors victims and survivors.
Thoughts and Prayers
Lord,
After the bullets are excavated from Lori Gilbert-Kaye’s body
And her husband and daughter sit shiva,
When the shape of her casket comes to mind faster than
The shape of her eyes,
But slower than
The putt putt putt of the assault rifle,
Grant them peace.
Lord,
Be with the cowards in Washington
The conservatives who love guns liberally
The corrupt, the complacent, the cynics —
A conglomerate of dogs feeding our babies to Cerberus —
Who let Sandy Hook
Columbine
Las Vegas
Orlando
Stoneman Douglas
Virginia Tech:
(I remember, vaguely, we hosted a survivor in our dorm room, and he was
shaken, effusive, still learning which of his friends had died
or survived with trauma. We watched him closely that week,
to make sure he did not harm himself.)
San Bernadino
Sutherland Springs
Aurora
Pittsburgh
— All of them
Let the bodies pile high
So we could excavate the bullets
For our American mass-shooting recycling machine.
Chasten their hearts, Lord.
Take your name away from hateful lips,
Only excepting for repentance.
Lord,
Be with my thoughts and prayers
You know
That my baby starts school this year
And my wife’s classroom is right by a side exit
And I don’t want to get that call
I don’t want to add
Syracuse
To the list
But Hell. It’s possible
We can create another angry racist misogynistic white boy
Give him any number of guns
March him straight into my daughter’s classroom
Leave me remembering the shape of her eyes
Leave me to shut the three-and-a-half-foot casket.
Phil Gross, Game Designer 