"Because the Second Amendment"
(After a Louisville Shooting)
That you were just twenty-five years old, my God.
That you had a job, maybe your first real job,
And (apparently) something went wrong.
That you lost it. Lost your job. Lost your mind.
That all you could imagine,
On a warm spring day in April,
On the banks of the Ohio River,
Was death and destruction and pain.
Theirs and yours. And ours.
Lord, have mercy.
On Connor, and on us all.
What could we ever know about you, Connor Sturgeon?
That you were fifteen when Obama grieved Newtown.
First graders. Teachers.
And a lost boy shooting up an elementary school.
That you were eighteen when Obama grieved Old Mother Emmanuel.
Church folks. Studying Jesus.
And a white boy shooting up a church.
That you were nineteen when Obama grieved Pulse.
Lovers and dancers. Celebrating.
And a mad boy shooting up a night club.
That your country did absolutely nothing to stop the madness.
Because. The Second Amendment. Apparently.
Lord, have mercy.
On Connor, and on us all.
What could we ever know about you, Connor Sturgeon?
That you grew up in a country obsessed
With AR-15s and gun shows and shooting things. Dead.
That you grew up in a country where a president
Bragged about killing people and getting away with it.
That you grew up in a country happy
To sell you another deadly weapon, and then another.
Because. The Second Amendment. Apparently.
It's a crying shame, dear Connor, all of it:
That all we ever taught you was how to shoot.
That all we ever taught you was vengeance and despair.
And how to load up on the banks of the Ohio River.
And how to give up, how to give in, when life got hard.
It's Good Friday over and over and over again.
The destruction is everywhere.
In America.
DGJ
4/11/23
With deep mercy and prayer for those killed in Louisville this week:
Joshua Barrick, Juliana Farmer, Tommy Elliiott, James Tutt and Deana Eckert.
