The Wounded And The Dead - Kathy Figueroa

A tear in the fabric of humanity
By unknown forces rent
Somehow let some bad thing in
Something evil sent

Like smoke, a wraith, a vapour
Malevolent tentacles uncurled
And early one bright morning
A toxic presence stained the world

On Friday, December 14th, 2012
The blood of innocents was spilled
In Newtown, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Twenty young school children were killed

And in Chengping, Henan, China
Twenty-two children were wounded at school
Again, by a beast in the shape of a man
Who was monstrously cruel

From where springs the coldness
The blackness that fills the soul with rot?
What could turn a man to beast
And pervert his rational thought?

What could warp his mind
And render him so devoid of joy
That all he longs to do
Is go out and destroy?

And for someone such as he
What could ever assuage
The maleficence that distorts his soul
And consumes him with rage?

How can we prevent
Such an act from occurring again?
How can we ever know what's awry
Deep in the hearts of men?

Animals don't kill wantonly
For pleasure or for fun
Only the human beast
Picks up a knife or a gun

Or drops white phosphorus
From planes overhead
And revels in the carnage
The wounded and the dead

Kathy Figueroa