A week of beautiful water
A calming breeze
A lullaby of waves
A smiling sun
A shady utopia
A week of beauty
Relaxation
Adventure
Shopping
Discovery
And fun
A week of death
Four dead in Gilroy, California
Twenty dead in El Paso, Texas
Nine dead in Dayton, Ohio
Millions of broken hearts across the country
Hundreds of NRA-backed politicians
Who have hundreds of thoughts and prayers
And nothing else
My vacation ended
And I was brought back
To the cruel and painful reality
Of life
In a broken country
Where children
Are killed at festivals
As they try new foods
Where Hispanic people
Are targeted
As they do their shopping
Where young people
Are shot down
As they enjoy a night out with friends
Where no one is safe
From death
At the hands of an amendment
Written to protect us
No one is safe
No one can vacation
Because mass shootings are constant
They are normal
They are perpetual
Unless we wake up
And fight back
And end the madness
Of life
In this broken country