An unfamiliar voice stabs at my heart

Begging me to drop everything and run

Faster than a bullet to my son’s school

 

Or quicker than automatic guns can

Deaden the life of a beautiful girl

Or before the innocent smiles fade

As they face down into hot pools of blood

 

I drop the phone, my fingers numb, and stoop

To make sure I’ve heard correctly the news

That sears into my brain, stripping my soul