Orlando: The Third Anniversary

On a night three years ago this week

Forty-nine people died

In a mass shooting that once again

Left the country horrified.

 

The Pulse nightclub, Orlando, Florida,

A place of nighttime revelry,

Became the target where a hater

Carried out his shooting spree.

 

Maybe among the victims' names

Are none that you can now recall.

Nevertheless, the incident

Is one that affects us all.

 

It's sad when conditions are such

That mass shootings become the norm.

It's equally sad when lawmakers

Shy away from gun-law reform.

 

And sad, too, it is when hate-filled

Bigots boldly advocate

That the deaths of forty-nine clubbers

Should be a cause to celebrate!

 

Shame on them who take religion

And shape it into deadly words

That they sling at innocent victims

While stirring up hatred among their herds.

 

The path to truth is a winding path;

It's easy to stumble, easy to stray.

Some start out with good intentions

But then get lost along the way.

 

So many anniversaries

Of mass shootings to recognize!

Will the light break through the clouds

Of ignorance? We can only surmise.

 

-by Bob B (6-14-19)

 

Remembering the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting:

 

Stanley Almodovar III, 23

Amanda Alvear, 25

Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21

Martin Benitez Torres, 33

Antonio D. Brown, 30

Darryl R. Burt II, 29

Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28

Simon A. Carrillo Fernandez, 31

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25

Luis D. Conde, 39

Cory J. Connell, 21

Tevin E. Crosby, 25

Franky J. Dejesus Velazquez, 50

Deonka D. Drayton, 32

Mercedez M. Flores, 26

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22

Juan R. Guerrero, 22

Paul T. Henry, 41

Frank Hernandez, 27

Miguel A. Honorato, 30

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40

Jason B. Josaphat, 19

Eddie J. Justice, 30

Anthony L. Laureano Disla, 25

Christopher A. Leinonen, 32

Brenda L. Marquez McCool, 49

Jean C. Mendez Perez, 35

Akyra Monet Murray, 18

Kimberly Morris, 37

Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27

Luis O. Ocasio-Capo, 20

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32

Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24

Christopher J. Sanfeliz, 24

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34

Shane E. Tomlinson, 33

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25

Luis S. Vielma, 22

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37

Jerald A. Wright, 31