"Vigil"
A Poem of American Crisis
A Poem of American Crisis
by
Sharee Anne Gorman
(annienomad-cyberpoet)
in silent running
recording for posterity
the scattered points of light
the scattered points of light
clustering steadily into pools
of brightly-lit umbrellas
unintended Chinese lanterns
gathered in grief
feeling very much the intruders
news crews bear witness to
a community in shock
humbled and shaken
they shiver at the sight of
orphaned parents protecting
the fragile flames of their
dwindling, yet somehow eternal,
dwindling, yet somehow eternal,
remembrance candles
sodden handkerchiefs
are folded and refolded
by owners searching desperately
for an unused corner to dry
chapped and moistened cheeks
sleeves serve almost as well
for the less prepared
for the less prepared
while those who stand
stone-faced and stubborn
stone-faced and stubborn
leave tears to find
their own course
their own course
numbly offering up body salts
to the soggy ground beneath
unsteady feet
we’ve stopped asking “why”
"why" has lost all meaning
but the words “enough”
and “no more”
and “no more”
are quickly gaining
ground
ground
we don’t care anymore
if it’s the guns,
the video games,
the horror movies
...or the meds...
those are just the symptoms of
an over-sold
and misspent culture
...we just want it to stop...
to understand the
reflection in this mirror
of our collective conscience
...the mirror to our madness...
a reflection that has become
...a vigil...
in its own right
12/17/12
