To Imagine

An apology
speaking out
I’m against something
We disagree.
If a picture
Speaks out loud
We might argue
Over words
Is that danger
As effective
Or can a gun-toting
Teacher
Teach me
Teach me
Teach me more
About living
Life
The pursuit of …

I have an argument
We disagree with
Yet when I stand
Alone
Speaking to my classroom
I like my chances with words
Heaven forbid that I leave
The Decision
In a higher authority’s
Gracious hands.
I’ll use eye contact
A smile
A pleading ‘it’s ok’
To be angry
And disagree
And that conversation
Will ring true
Far more than
A bullet in my back
wall
Floor, backpack, ceiling fan.
Human error.

“I have a dream” spoke
the man of my generation
MLK Jr believed in love
And John Lennon
Later on asked the world
To Imagine.

They both died in a hail of bullets
Pacifist, praying, peaceful,
Speaking of love
They were shot dead in cold blood
But not by avid deer hunters
Not in the cross fire of a duck hunt
Nor a ricochet from the range.
Their deaths symbolize
How absurd the human condition
Becomes in the face of LOVE.

A picture stirs a pain in my heart
I’m not a violent man
Either are you
That’s why you chose
To stand in front of a gallery
Of vulnerable youth

To teach a child about hope,
To teach children about integrity
Teach them love.