For Charlie - a poem

Who knew that the words,

“We’re gonna be here a few hours.”

Would end up being a lie?

How could the man who said them know,

That in just a few moments

He would die. 

No one was thinking of death that day.

No one but the coward who sat on a roof

yards away. 

Hundreds and thousands had made 

an appearance,

Gathering despite all of their difference.

But see, some couldn’t stand that,

They feared what it meant.

Because loving one's enemy 

is foreign to them.

So despite

The chance,

The challenge,

The change.

With one aimed shot,

That peace was disarranged. 

Little did they know of

What his death would bring

Now there are hundreds, of thousands, of millions, like him. 

But let us not forget the 

weight of the cost.

“Mommy, where’s daddy?”

Shows the ache of this loss.

So we’ll pick up the weapon 

that he left behind.

The power of words,

And speaking our minds. 

A man lost his life,

For the crime of conversation.

But he won’t die in vain,

We will never stop speaking.