More dead than days counted-
our hills and hollows seem to run red
with the spring thaw.
Families destroyed,
children’s lives snuffed out-
the question of why on everyone’s lips.
Our souls are weary of the killing-
body counts rise with every newscast.
Each day bringing more and more of the atrocities,
repeating the tired refrain
of murder/ suicide, murder/ suicide
murder /suicide.
Is it a vicious virus that is transmitted
from screen to hand,
from hatred spewing posts to unformed souls?
How is it that this viral violence manifests
in such brutal and barbaric acts?
Lost in the haze of these horrors, my psyche shuts down,
turning to the day to day necessity
of caring for those within my reach
and hoping that it is enough
to save my soul.
*** it has been an overwhelmingly tragic few weeks in our tiny region of the country. So many people murdered that it has been hard for even law enforcement to keep the number straight. How is that possible? And with the barbaric atrocities reported from so many areas in our world, the grief becomes overwhelming. And, I hate to admit it, I shut down after so much horror. I can not hold the knowledge of these atrocities and function. Abhra’s prompt for D’Verse Poetics was to raise our voices in protest against the worlds violence – not sure this meets the mark.
thecourseofourseasons 
The world is becoming more shrouded by darkness and except something begins to change it will certainly only get worse.
Beautiful poem!
It really has become a bleak place. Every page and every news channel brings up even more depressing news. Powerful lines!
In worlds where there are not fully expressed comforts in childhood nurturing where touch becomes love.. the seed is planted.. one day to be taken advantage for dreams of will that do not come free or true…
True – the effect of terror can not be worse, you depict my frame of mind so accurately but this is not a moment to go weak – we need to gather courage and speak up. Thank you for joining my prompt.
I feel depressed watching the news 😦 It seems that the viral of violence is never ending ~ I feel uplifted reading that last stanza – the best we can do is to care for those close to us ~ Thanks for participating Kathleen ~
It does seem like a viral epidemic of hate and killing.
I’m finding it hard to watch the news lately for the same reason. The world is frustrated and taking it our on each other and themselves.
Nancy
You more than met the mark. Powerful words, especially about narrowing our focus on those we can help, those things we can change….we all get so weary of the awful, don’t we?
there is a madness that seems to have blown in like a whirlwind
Oh it definitely meets the mark, my friend. I feel every word of your poem. Especially “our souls are weary of the killing”. Are they ever! All we can do is strive for peace and loving-kindness in our own spheres and “hope it is enough to save my soul”. It must be. The Lord didnt build all this killing into the design. Humans did that.
Sometimes I just cannot fathom all the killing..it’s so sad and overwhelming.. sometimes I think we should report less of these deeds in favor of more positive news.. but the tiredness I fully feel as well…
Kathleen, you express what I am feeling so well. As much as I would like to close the door on it and hide in my protected world, I can’t. But so often we are left with a profound feeling of helplessness.
Shutting down emotionally is sure-fire self defense, but the overwhelming presence of barbarity, of madness does take its toll; we all thicken our outer bark, but the inner self
is strangled with blood rings. I like your suggestion that we narrow our focus to concentrate on only those things & those people that we can help or impact. Carrying the cares, the woes of our planet on our backs, pressing down our souls, would destroy Atlas;
so like him, we must shrug off the excess weight & only shoulder what we can truly bear.
Oh, Kathleen – I had wondered how close those were to you. Truly awful and no wonder that we need to occasionally shutdown as a defense mechanism. That term “viral violence” raised the hair on my arms. Thinking of you… be well, my friend.
It really has been awful. A little 6 yr old girl strangled by a man in a hotel I drive past each workday. Just on the other side of the county, a young man killed his young wife then himself, leaving their 8 week old son an orphan. Honestly, what is wrong with people?! Then the ‘massacre’ last week – just heartbreaking.
It makes me grateful that I don’t have a television, to be honest. I see it on the news websites, and that’s horrific enough. I can’t imagine hearing it played over again and again on the news programs.
Weary of the killing indeed. The “red” that you brought forward echoes my sentiments…so sad. Powerful words.