poem of the day 06.13.16

let us

let us not take tragedy

and turn it into anger

let us pause and collect our thoughts

let us not heed the words

of an orange-hued, bloviating

xenophobic, bigoted, sexist, narcissist

and turn it into a national fascist drumbeat

let us learn from hard history

before we’re doomed to repeat it on new soil

let us not exploit those lives for political gain

or turn away from our ideals

let us turn the candlelight vigil

into something more than going through the motions

let us not spiral into that human pit

of violence and betrayal

but instead let us act out with kindness and empathy

let us not take this one world

and turn it inside out

let us paint our cities every color of the rainbow yes

but let us seek an understanding

in every drop of blood

before it’s too late

or is it

already

too late?