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The piece intentionally muddles the pain and the politics together. Because the only way to prevent the former is with the latter. 

My grief, my anger, my helplessness feel unbearable after yet another horrific tragedy. One for which our country is now infamous.

Thank you for your perspective. And for your service as a teacher - you're the real heroes.

This was not an easy read, because some of us (public school teachers) want to sit with our grief. And not to politicize. It puts the pain and the politics together and it’s not easy to parse them when reading this poem. Which is I think the point?

As we fight yet again  
Over which lives matter  
We strive to stay blind  
To unending red splatter


Our cup runneth over  
With crimson grief  
If we could be bothered  
We'd turn a new leaf 


But the tides of our world  
Driven by the current, see?  
This currency we created  
Abbetted, unabated


To build comfort for creatures  
Stoked by aggression  
The past is a teacher  
If we dont burn all its lessons 


Some enlightened age  
Illuminated by phones  
We built our own cage  
So connected, so alone


Get back to spending  
Care not for the killed and  
Keep building this temple  
Over the bodies of children


Commerce, our religion  
The gospel of stuff  
In this day and age  
Innocence isn't enough 


Feedback 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/oolibu/a_fraction/h60xao8?utm_medium=android_app&amp;utm_source=share&amp;context=3

Feedback 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/oo15xp/drunk_texts/h60xtee?utm_medium=android_app&amp;utm_source=share&amp;context=3


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Uvalde.