Men in power pray over bodies
Sprayed in a church—we’ve seen
This works. On Sunday what we need
Is to pray. Anything else is naive;
To think banning guns is extreme.
What we really need is concealed
And carried close to the heart—
What we really need is to pray.
Freedom to carry or to choose
Not to will have its day. Men who
Wish to harm you will always
Find a way. No one can stop them.
That’s why we shouldn’t plan to
End things—like guns and pregnancy.
To ban a thing restores the black
Market, brings back the back alley
Abortion–the one thing upright men
Find in their hearts to stand
Their ground against.
Author’s note: In response to Sunday’s shooting in a Sutherland Springs church, the Texas Attorney General suggested it was naive to think that gun control could help, noting a black market of guns would spring up which would supply bad men with weapons. Also this week we learned of the Trump Administration’s failed attempt to prevent an undocumented teenager from having an abortion. These two stories highlight a deep-seated hypocrisy in Republican Party politics.
READ MORE
In Texas, Almost Anyplace Can Be A Place to Carry a Gun [New York Times]
Undocumented Teenager Obtains Abortion After Court Victory [New York Times]
Amy Shaw is a cardiology PA living and working in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She turned to poetry after the recent election to focus on the personal in what feels like a world coming apart at the seams.
Photo by Victor Lozano.
