For the Man
a reflection on the death of Charlie Kirk
violence
a last word before a shot rings out,
a wound, a slumped body under words Prove Me Wrong,
and we are left divided, pointing fingers before a suspect is named
I have seen reports of mourning, of joy, of indifference,
felt my own mix of mental chaos in this immediate aftermath,
but I do not mourn the man who called gun deaths rational
when it is his turn to swallow the bullet,
I do not weep for the man who lists dead children as acceptable loss
when it is him as the target on campus,
I do not offer empathy for the man who claimed it dangerous.
I do not revise the past, paint him civil for the sake of his children,
the daughter whose body he would sacrifice, use for a womb,
no, I honor the truth in death
the whole truth, nothing but the truth,
because death does not erase damage done, recorded, sold for profit
death memorializes what's been done in a poem, in stone,
in clips played back again and again
showing this is what he always wanted
an acceptable sacrifice, isn't it, Charlie?
About the Creator
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Comments (10)
Excellent.
Powerful commentary, accurate. well written.
Excellent. You described my emotions perfectly as well. I despise the violence but I cannot morn the man.
Any loss of life is a cause to mourn. I may not have agreed with Charlie on many things, but he was a husband, father, son, and brother. He was a fellow human being. He did no evil deeds such as rape, child molestation, or serial killings. In reality, he was a good man with different beliefs from mine. Just because his beliefs were different than mine doesn't mean I wanted him dead. Practicing his First Amendment is no reason to say he got what he deserved. No death is an acceptable sacrifice. No death.
This is my thought process in one poem. Well done!
This poem is exactly how I feel about it. I won’t celebrate, but I’m not going to feel bad for him either. Great work.
Powerful stuff And incredibly relatable
right on
I mourn the death of every human life lost, whether I agree with them or not.
I agree with everything you said here. When Nancy Pelusi’s husband was bludgeoned in the head with a hammer, Charlie Kirk called for his followers to post bail for the attacker. That is outright evil. The man was twisted. He was mentally deranged. I have/had no respect for him.