This morning
As we stood waiting for the bus
I held your little hand
And laughed at the teddy bear hat
You chose to wear
It was your favorite
Your room was filled with teddy bears
There was the special one
You cuddled with
As I kissed you goodnight
The first one you received
When you were newly born
From the daddy who loved you so
He learned to change your diaper
How to give you a bath
He wanted to be part of everything
And he always made me laugh
He gave you your fishing rod
With Snoopy on the handle
I took pictures at the lake
As with the fish you did battle
It ended up that he’d set the hook
And let you reel it in
You were so excited
And in the end we let it swim
So many thoughts swirl round me now
Five years was not enough
To know the person you would be
If you had the chance to grow up
But that chance was taken away
On a warm and sunny day
When a shooter came to school
With malevolence on his mind
In his hands he carried a weapon of death
That spread gunfire near and far
Rapidly, indiscriminately
His victims had no chance
Countless children lost
Beloved teachers to
Lives shattered forever after
Inextinguishable heartache
And all I can do is ask
“Why?”
I grieve each day
For what should have been
A happy life cut all to short
By a senseless act made all too easy
I listen each afternoon as the bus goes by
It’s the worst time of the day
I should be waiting at the stop
To walk you home and fix your snack
But all I can do is sit
As a wave of pain envelopes my heart
And takes me back to “this morning”
When all was well
-
Author:
Bella Shepard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: April 11th, 2024 11:21
- Comment from author about the poem: This is written for all of the mothers and fathers who have experienced such anguish. It did not happen in my family.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 39
- Users favorite of this poem: Teddy.15, Accidental Poet, Mase ♪, Qurrathul Ain
Offline)
Comments7
Broke my heart to read this. ❤️
Thank you my friend, it broke my heart to write it. Too may broken hearts out there.
Dear Bella, your empathy for victims of guns especially children is so welcomed, all too often we in Europe, see these terrible scenes shown on TV screens, I know that gun management and licence in America has a major amount of problems and probably always has had, due to political belief, and easy access. Although I cannot stand as an American to write this I can tell you that as a mother myself, I am on the side of those who wish not to have any type of guns in or out of schools. I'm sorry yesterday I had very little time to write something more. I hope that your poetic words will reach those who have suffered so that no one need suffer again. The power of words. Thank you. ❤️
Teddy, your words of understanding are so welcome. We are up against a political machine and a gun lobby whose sole interest is to maintain the status quo. It's sad when you can google how many school shootings have occured in a given year. 2024 saw 340 shootings, and in this year there are 10 so far, and I hate qualify by saying so far. The gun lobby and the politicians suggest arming teachers and perhaps students as an answer, only a fool would say such things, ergo we are governed by fools. There are a few cracks beginning to show in the opposition, they can't keep it up forever for what they base their ideology on is built on shifting sands. The saddest part is that the whole world can see what far too many here cannot, or refuse to see. However the day will come when they wake up and see that the Emperor has no clothes. Unfortunatley, they drag all of us who knew that, down with them. Thank you for allowing this little rant, there aren't a lot of people I can vent to here. God bless dear friend!
Rant away anytime, and I whole heartedly agree with all of it.
A sensitive write B.
Thank you Orchi, wish there were no such subjects to write on.
My condolences to you and your family Bella. It's heartbreaking to lose anyone to gunfire, but especially when it is a young child. You'll be together again. 🫂
Dear friend, fortunately for me, but not for others, our family has not suffered gun violence. This is from the perspective of all the mothers and fathers who have suffered such anguish. When I tried to write my own comments about the poem, the website wouldn't accept the language and it did not show up on the poem page. So sorry this misled you. Your condolences are shared with all of the victims. Thank you so much.
Oh, ok now I understand. The loss suffered by all the families is tragic beyond imagination. Gun laws are so grossly out of sync with the reality of the lives being wrongly taken. They don't care about the deaths and injustice. All they care about is their right to carry guns and use them. It just makes me sick that priorities in this country are so unbelievable. Excellent poem to bring light to one of our country's biggest problems.
It is a pleasure and a comfort to share with one who understands so well the crisis we face. To be able to commune on such matters is truly a liberating feeling. Thank You!
😉👍
Gut wrenching, Bella. But I feel if I comment further (and I very much could)....I hope you understand.
Just happy it wasn't you or yours.
I do understand, and I thank you so much Dave. It is beyond understanding. Every time another one happens, and they will continue to happen, the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming. I can hardly imagine how these parents go on. My grandchildren made it safely through the school
year, and I can only hope and pray for those who are living through this now. God bless dear friend, for your kind words.
Such emotive words Bella. I just cannot understand why these people are allowed onto our earth!
Andy
A most poignant and sad poem Bella. There are so many senseless tragedies in this world. I listen to all the politics of gun control and have to ask myself why the issue of mental health and parental responsibility is not addressed . Recently in a shooting the parents of the shooter were sentenced to prison time for their part or lack of part in the shooting. This may be the new trend.
Thank you so much my friend, your comment means a great deal to me. Here's hoping that the recent verdict will begin to hold more careless parents culpable. This is going to be a slow, difficult process, but not impossible. Take care!
Good late evening my time Bella .. My word, I am almost too embarrassed to articulate in any great detail just how much I felt compelled to read this whole thing through.. Such tragedies are regrettably on the increase but no matter how often we are exposed to them, I doubt they will ever get any easier to comprehend.. I am so grateful for your authors note too and breathed a sigh of great relief when you pointed out that you were making a poetic point rather than referencing a personal tragic bereavement.. Good to be back my friend, you bet .. Neville
Thank you dear Nev, it is so good to hear from you. What is interesting is that my original author's note was not allowed to publish with the poem. I originall said something to the effect that I was ashamed of my country for the pervaisive gun violence. I tried several times to publish with that message, and it always gave me a 403 code. When I reworded it was accepted. Maybe it was a little too political, but I was really stunned, I guess they keep a close watch on what they deem offensive or provocative language on the site. I'll have to watch my p's & q's. Every time I hear of another shooting I can't help but think of the anguish these families are going through. Being parents, I think we all take it to heart, broken heart that is. Take care my friend!
How interesting .......................... & you too B .. N x
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