by
benditty
Categories: poetry, UncategorizedTags: commentary, kurds, poetry, syria, war
Leave a comment
Tag: commentary
The “Other” Valentines Day
There is another Valentine’s
Day lost in Vermont
Teddy Bears and heart
Shaped boxes –
A year ago
We saw it take
Away the lives of
Fourteen students,
Three adults –
Gunned down like countless others
We don’t mention
Because they were too black
Or too poor for sympathy –
Today we see a generation
Kept in cages, stolen
By a forced adoption
while we enjoy white privilege
with dead flowers.
__
Ben Ditmars (C) 2019
Thoughts About Valentine’s Day
17 Letters for Stoneman Douglas
After the horrific events at Stoneman Douglas I began a letter writing campaign. Each day for seventeen days I would write my congressmen about a victim from the school demanding preventative action. I tried to write each day, imagining the pain of losing students or family members. Instead, I learned something personal about Miguel, Joaquin, Cara, Carmen, Aaron, Alaina, Nicholas, Alyssa, Alex, Gina, Jaime, Scott, Peter, Chris, Luke, Meadow and Helena. Whether it was Meadow’s ambition to attend Lynn University in the fall or Helena saving her friend’s life by telling her to get a book and protect herself, these fourteen students and three teachers will always be remembered. We owe it to them and their sacrifice to not forget.
The Midnight Writer 