by David Radavich
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The U.S. has surpassed 100 mass shootings in 2023 on Sunday, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which defines mass shootings as situations in which at least four people are shot and either injured or killed, not including the shooter. Only 64 days have passed so far this year, meaning there have been more mass shootings than days in the U.S. thus far. The 100th mass shooting of the year left three people, including a child, dead and another person injured in Bolingbrook, Illinois. —Axios, March 7, 2023. Photo: A person sitting outside Berkey Hall at Michigan State University, the site of a mass shooting on Feb. 13. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images via Axios. |
The last time I pulled
a gun I was a teenager.
And I was deadly accurate.
I could kill a can at 100 yards
knocking it into the field of dreams.
Everyone thought, “Who is this
kid? Where does he get those eyes?”
From looking hard. Studying
every angle and crease.
I don’t miss the accuracy these days.
Cans have become humans,
teens are now cops, and black
lives still don’t matter.
The .22 has become an AK-47
and war has become the everyday
in schools and churches, at the mall.
No wonder I want to forget.
No wonder we can’t cry anymore.
Death is what we signed up for.
Bullets are just the dance
we invite our partners to.
a gun I was a teenager.
And I was deadly accurate.
I could kill a can at 100 yards
knocking it into the field of dreams.
Everyone thought, “Who is this
kid? Where does he get those eyes?”
From looking hard. Studying
every angle and crease.
I don’t miss the accuracy these days.
Cans have become humans,
teens are now cops, and black
lives still don’t matter.
The .22 has become an AK-47
and war has become the everyday
in schools and churches, at the mall.
No wonder I want to forget.
No wonder we can’t cry anymore.
Death is what we signed up for.
Bullets are just the dance
we invite our partners to.
Among David Radavich's poetry collections are two epics, America Bound and America Abroad, as well as Middle-East Mezze and The Countries We Live In. His plays have been performed across the U.S. and in Europe. His latest book is Unter der Sonne / Under the Sun: German and English Poems (2022).
