On Orlando

Bullets not only shatter glass and bodies,

They shatter ties and dreams

Unfulfilled quests and ideas,

Frequently lead to tragic things.

For those that came to the end,

Facing death heroically,

Those grazed by danger, yet survived,

Now losing faith in humanity.

Random violence is not random,

When hatred lives in your heart.

The heart beating ticks like a time bomb,

Blowing precious lives apart.

Let us remember that words uttered.

Hateful and said with shame.

They are as powerful as gunshots,

And they help us shoulder the blame.

We should collectively remember,
Not leave this in the past,

For blinking lights and ringing phones,

Make for a ghastly epitaph.

--© 2016 by Sonya Dickerson