A Deadly Valentine

A young male,
always a male,
heads to school,
and starts shooting

Again, again and again
as so many other times
in so many other places

Targeting boys and girls,
young and vulnerable
who at that moment
are about to become
a lifeless statistic

Some fall silently,
some die fleeing,
some hide in horror,
texting home

The shooter is but a boy,
too young to buy a beer,
hiding under his red hat

Tapped in a maelstrom,
of swirling emotions,
he sets out for school,
hugging his only Valentine.
his newly bought AR-15,
which for a brief moment,
turns this scared little boy
into a mighty avenger,
able to kill,
to nullify,
to experience,
the ultimate power.

Those who die 

die prematurely,
for no good reason

They are sacrificed
to the Gun God
on the altar
that NRA built