When shooting has become a synonym for today
And fear a synonym for tomorrow
Last week, month, year, years
These are no longer words, but justifications
Next week isn’t even a part of our vocabulary
Because we don’t even know if there will be one
When shooting has become a synonym for today
And hashtags the coping method
One hashtag becomes more and more and more
Trending for a bit, then fading into nonexistence
Because as the hashtag disappears, so does the issue, right?
More and more hashtags appear
As we have more and more to cope with today
So, what does doing nothing do?
Well, you better prepare those hashtags
You’ll need plenty of them
Rather than join a trend, make it trending
Why fear the monster under the bed when you can just turn on the light?
But the light can’t only be kept on until you fall asleep
You must always keep the lights on
Yes, even when it seems safe
Yes, even when you think monsters have become extinct
Because once you turn the lights off, they will come back
Don’t have just one tiny nightlight
Add one, two, three
Even sleep with the overhead lights on
Because monsters become more and more powerful overtime
You need all the lights you can get
When a child tells you they had a nightmare
You tell them “it was just a dream”
So why are we treating this situation like it’s a child?
We have become a child needing protection
But this isn’t child’s play
Will they come back?
No.
Will the issues come back?
Yes.
We can mourn all we want,
But unless we do something…their death is in vain
Someone’s life isn’t a hashtag
They shouldn’t only be known for the gruesome way they died
Yet more and more people are becoming known as a hashtag.
You can’t turn someone’s entire life into a hashtag
And neither can you an issue
“I can’t figure out why this keeps on happening”
You say as you scream into a wall
“I want something to be done”
You say as you lock yourself in a room
“I don’t feel safe”
You say as you hold the weapon
Your voice, which you let disappear into silence
When shooting has become a synonym for today
We have the power to change the synonym for tomorrow
When peace has become a synonym for tomorrow
Progress has become the synonym for today
With its definition being speaking, speaking out, doing something, anything
Anything that isn’t nothing.
