I know I’ve been away for a few days. I needed to take a break. My heart in broken for our nation. And I wonder, how can anyone still support the horrible leaders of this country. What scares me most is that people still do…
____________________

drowning in gaslight

I cannot look away, my senses assaulted
by murders captured on cell phones 
blasted as evidence to the world,
targeted death by hate and retribution, 
forced to witness souls released 
from battered, tear-gassed bodies…

“don’t believe your eyes”, they say,
“we’re here to save you from terrorists”

from babies and five-year olds 
in blue bunny-ear hats
and Spider-Man backpacks
harboring fathers legally here, 
granted asylum, baby boys used as bait, 
for abduction to oblivion

in case you didn’t know, they now say
terrorists are poets, gentle mothers,
beloved partners, kind souls who sparkle…

terrorists are helpers, icu nurses serving
veterans, who exercise rights once
considered established by our forefathers 
whose last act on earth was kindness
helping a woman, pushed down and tear-gassed
then ripped from aiding her, and shot dead 

I do not feel safer 
with these so-called terrorists eliminated, nor from the disappearing of 
children, of innocent neighbors 
singled out because of who someone
perceives them to be…

no one is safe
when evil rewrites and repeats history 

we are drowning in gaslight, teargas 
and blood…and we must not look away

let us call out the true terrorists by name
reclaiming the inheritance of the meek
in kindness, compassion, love, and truth

please stay safe my friends…believe your eyes 

~kat