Orlando

Thu, 04/13/2017 - 08:03 -- cmavery

People are screaming.There are gunshots.What is the meaning? How many are lost? My heart is pounding And I'm in a warm home Sitting comfortably on my bed Staring at my phone.Watching my news feed change From prayers to the crossed.  I am stunned, and I am not even there.  Later that night, a rainbow appears. Not a real one; the only light left to find in the cold night is the moon.But there's thousands on this screen, from flags to emojis, to soothe society’s fears. Still, a real one would be a godsend for the doomed.  Somehow I sleep that night.  In the morning, I awake to hashtags. Hashtag this, hashtag thatStuff to try and bring them back Thank God no one hashtags "fag." Anger stirs in me, quick as a bullet and striking as the hit.  As the days go on, you hear less news.But no one forgets the One, their crystalline muse.Whether it be the two young lovers embracing, gently and sweetly drunk on booze,Or the girl who was killed while opening her arms, with nothing in her young life to lose.  Just, you know, her life itself. Some are lucky enough to attend a funeral.The rest of us say virtual goodbyes, fettered by how little is doable.We send up balloons, listen to music, share letters,While trying our best to imagine a world turned better.  But lately, no one knows what America stands for.  Home of the free? Home of the brave? Then why Christina Grimmie? Why the 50 fates?  "Why," is all we can ever say.  Families grapple for their babies, wish to once more watch them playThere are showers in June, and May flowers are now on graves.Us others, we cry and we scream and we can't help but cuss.No one's supposed to feel this way, but everyone does.  No one can breathe.Everyone remembers the 51 names, but suddenly, nobody can quite recall their own.  Orlando, we stand with you. We want more humanity.Even if we stumble as we help each other through.Because love is all that can cure the insanity.There are Pride parades, songs dedicated to a certain name, and too much pain. But the angels are singing a hauntingly beautiful refrain. Hallelujah, HallelujahNo matter your views. Hallelujah, HallelujahLet our hearts fuse.        

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