In Memory of Antwuan

I realize we have a second amendment

To a constitution drafted three centuries ago

But I propose a simple notion to you that

It was never intended to result in this

Loss, loss, loss and more loss

Over and over again, incomprehensible

Loss

Where this time a juvenile with a history

Of arms convictions and prior detention

Goes on a rage and a shooting spree and

Commits murder four times in the first degree

Loss

I didn’t know you Antwuan, but now I do

The team that you loved still loves you, too

On your nineteenth, they played your moving video

Filmed from the observation deck studio

Loss

Seven in red circles the bases and

Turns toward home, spots out the future

With a big grin and a glint in his eyes

But this time, to a disconsolate crowd

Loss

Stories like this are complex, so I’m told,

Yet we must rethink the world we have sown

With the seeds of our medieval fears and concerns

Can we plow them all up and start over again

We must not stop until this beacon of hope

Leads to heaven on earth, and each time I step

Outside onto the memorial deck, I promise

I will remember you, Antwuan