A poem about taking away the glory that the killers in this country seek.
If I send you my picture
That I took of myself
Me
Standing with my automatic weapons
Standing tall
And strong
With a strength that I never knew in life
But only knew
After I killed your children
Maybe don't post it on the television
And Facebook
For other children to see
Maybe if you don't post it
You won't create another one of me
Another person
Looking for the validation in death
That couldn't be found in life
Maybe if the t.v. doesn't show it
Another unhappy teen won't see it
They won't think to themselves
I have a camera
I can get a gun
I can be as cool as he is
I can be as strong
Maybe if they don't see my face
They will only
Hear the sounds
of the people and their sadness
The newscasters talking
about what we can do to make things better
The crying
The crying
Maybe if they can only hear the pain
And don't see the inflated false strength
The self-aggrandizing
gun wielding power
Of a child killing other children
They won't think to themselves
I want to find power there also.
Because I don't know where else to look for it
Maybe
If I send you my picture
That I took of what I believe to be
my most powerful self
Before I killed your children
Maybe
Maybe
Just don't post it.
About this poem: I wrote this after the Virginia Tech shootings. And to my incredible sadness, it is not only still applicable today, but may be even more so with murderers using social media and news outlets to distribute their self-portraits, manifestos and, most recently, videos of their murders.
Maybe if the media, and we, as individuals, all make a conscious effort to not post or pass along these images, we can make a difference in the future of what our children are able to see. Maybe, just maybe, we can save lives.
Let's help to not glorify our country's murderers. Let's take this small step to silence them.
#dontpostmypicture #mediablackoutonmurderers #mediayoudohaveachoice