Another Tragedy

In a small central Californian town

On a summer afternoon in July,

A tragedy occurred, which forces

All of us to ask ourselves, "WHY?"

 

A three-year-old child, who with her mother

Was visiting family friends, is dead.

The girl, playing with a gun that she'd found,

Put a bullet through her head.

 

What a tragedy waiting to happen!

The gun was NOT equipped with a lock!

It lay in a bedroom somewhere, loaded.

What would it say if it could talk?

 

"I have bullets and I have a trigger;

I'll share the blame for the suffering you see here.

But you made me; not I you.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here."

 

The gun was registered to a friend

Of one of the women living there.

Of all involved, who'll be held

Responsible for this sad affair?

 

How can such a tragedy happen?

Your guess is as good as anyone's.

We do know one thing: there are people

Who should not be in possession of guns.

 

(7-7-16)