The Others

A Eulogy

Sherry Kappel
May 12, 2023

Too many days these days
Even the sun’s merciful hugs
Merely illuminate my pain
The placid white moon
Proffers no solace
In the thickness of the darkness
Air too heavy to take in
Bodies even heavier when

Guns are our only friend
The lovely mujeres de La Playa
Morph into monsters
At our border
Black man-boy at my door
Surely has no right reason
To be there (how dare he!)
And the child with the ball
Will kill my manicured lawn
Unless I kill her first

I must protect…exactly what?
The putrid, sulfuric air?
Blades of grass
Beneath bloody feet?
Proof that our fears are real
The righteousness of our
Thoughts and prayers
When did my gun
Become bigger than me
Bigger than my humanity

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Sherry Kappel

Looking for the Kind in Humankind. Heart currently Code Blue.