Arms Race

Let freedom ring!
child of liberty,
the bell tolls for thee,
whose way to eternity is paved with lead.

No fallen soldier or hero in battle
would make you thus,
an emblem of sorrow,
or price of victory.

While cries of battle dim the
anguished mourning
of your flight–
carried small, heavy,
on shoulders worn with grief–
your voices linger in empty hallways

Whose arms are these,
cold, unyielding,
which bear you into earth?
No mothers’ soft caress,
or fathers’ tight embrace,
to ease the way
this silent night.

Let Freedom Ring!
with metal, steel and lead;
Let freedom ring!
in fervent town hall clamor;
Let Freedom Ring!
Through the dreaded quiet
of darkened rooms

Sharon Zeugin, 2013
Written in response to the Newtown massacre