At the end of May

     We remember

Remember all those who serve

     and have served

That we may be free

Our heroes for a modern day.

At the end of May this year

     We remember

Not the people who served,

     but the children who were sacrificed

by one troubled man

     who did not know those he killed.

For this memorial, we morn

     we argue,

     we spread blame around,

     often in ways that make no sense

We pledge to do better,

     But we never do.

Blaming everyone and everything

Except our own cowardliness

     our own selfishness

We fail to serve as our heroes served

     with no thought for themselves,

Instead to save and preserve …. us.

So how will we honor the memories

     of those we lost as they fought for us

When all thoughts are for those innocents lost

     Who never got the chance

     to grow, to share,

     to choose a path?

How can we honor our heroes

     if we cannot care for our youth

     if we continue to condemn them to violence

How do we respect their memories

     if we cannot say “enough!”

If we cannot find the courage to change?