STAND  YOUR  GROUND

		When everyone is armed, we will be safe.
		No crime.  No problems.  That’s the Promised Land. 
		So now we’re armed and strong on “self defense.”
		We stockpile pistols, shotguns, rifles, air guns,
		submachine guns, even AR-15s. 
		From coast to coast, we watch the bullets fly. 

		North Carolina—here’s a six-year-old
		playing basketball.  It bounces wide,
		and into someone’s yard.  Guy charges out--
		he shoots her, and her frantic mom and dad.
		“I told you kids stay off my frickin’ lawn!”
		When everyone is armed, we will be safe.

		Missouri, now, a teen-aged honor student, 
		comes to get his twin. He rings the doorbell. 
		Wrong door opens. Fearful man inside
		shoots him in the face. No questions asked.
		When everyone is armed, we will be safe—
		unless you’re black, and knock on the wrong door. 

		Upstate New York has mazes of back roads.
		A young girl, 20, looking for a house,
		pulls into a likely driveway, hopes it’s right.
		The homeowner’s irate. He shoots her dead.
		When everyone is armed, we will be safe—
		unless you’re searching for an obscure address.

		New Mexico cops.  Domestic violence call.
		Police respond. Wrong house, Knock on the door.
		Owner opens, handgun for support.
		The lawmen open fire, and shoot him dead.
		When everyone is armed, we will be safe—
		unless some nervous cops come to your door. 


		Two Texas cheerleaders scanned the parking lot,
		thought they found their car. Opened the door.
		Wrong car. Apologized. The man inside
		pulled out a gun, took aim, and shot them both.
		When everyone is armed, we will be safe—
		unless your car’s a common make and hue.

		Angry people hole up in a fortress.
		Frightened people think a gun gives clout.
		Shoot first, question later;  stand your ground!
		Look what really happens at the door
		when everyone is armed—blood, pain, and death. 
		When everyone is armed, no one is safe. 

		Copyright 4/2023                Patricia Doyne