N.R. Davison, Child’s Play, ca. 2014, linocut.
De Capo Ad Nauseum
Poem on the Texas Shooting
A month ago, I wrote a poem.
Sorting out my grief
Violence and killings weighing heavy
In a world with too little light.
I processed unbelief:
So many gone so fast.
A world where 15 minutes of fame
Sometimes comes after your last breath.
And then my life went on.
The usual work, family and stress.
No time for writing poems,
Just a few odd prayers for peace.
So I sit down to write:
A writer has to– it has been too long.
I pause for inspiration, scan the news and then stop short.
No need to write, I said it all last month.
Just hit repeat: how many copies shall I print?
Melanie Kyer
November, 2017
Author’s note: This poem was written in November, 2017, just after the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. One month earlier, we mourned the shooting in Las Vegas.