Written by Mary Anne Abdo

An afternoon breeze moving the wind chimes to and fro.

It echoes the sounds of cardinals and other birds in the distance.

And yet, as the flurry of air rushes by.

So does the screaming echoes of the ambulance surrounding my block.

Another person has fallen to gun violence.

Tears streaming down my face with hearts twisting and turning.

It is all too much.

Victims.

Families of victims.

School lockdowns.

Movie theatres with live terror.

Places of worship.

Malls.

Parades.

Need I say more?

All stopping and praying.

For these senseless acts of inhumanity to cease.

Please tell me; what does this all do?

No one is listening to humanities’ pleas.

Of blood soaked bodies all around.

Police helicopters hover over my block.

In a time where sometimes we can’t even fathom.

An eerie silence has grown

While butterflies are dancing across the lawn.

Nature reminding us there is a better way

To peacefully co-exist.

Text © Mary Anne Abdo

Unfortunately the rise in gun violence is beyond out of control. The incident in the above poem happened in early September and it was 6 blocks away from our home.This poem was published by the Edge of Humanity online magazine. Please follow them on Word Press. Thank you to their staff in doing an amazing job of featuring all types of genres. https://edgeofhumanity.com/