When Carol Hallman of Salisbury, North Carolina, USA, read today’s headlines, she had to do something. Her poem reflects the thoughts of so many.
Another day
Another shooting
Chicago today
The Navy Yard DC
Boston
Newtown Aurora Oslo Ft. Hood
Samson Finland Virginia Tech
Erfurt Littleton Dunblain Tasmania
From close to far away
Every day
Shootings
Has life truly lost meaning?
Have we forgotten how to feel?
Does nobody care?
That children and teens
Women and men
Parents and teachers
Military and business leaders
Die in our cities and towns
Is there nothing we can do?
We can’t talk about guns
Can’t take away those guns from nobody no how
Can’t register the guns no that takes away rights
Can’t talk about mental health and the need
For better care better reporting better evaluations
So we just zip up another body bag
And we cry and say how sad
And we wring our hands and say
We wish something could be done
And then we just go back to what we were doing
As if nothing happened
Until
Another day
Another shooting
Gifts in Open Hands 
Death has become our “business as usual”. So consumed are we with protecting individuals’ rights that there’s no one left to take responsibility.
Her frustration is ours. I have to believe that all of this is working toward a new possibility for us. But when, oh, that is the question.