wings on fire

1)

what are the chances of having
wings on fire from too much
exposure to inhumane treatment
of innocent children

the exposure to harsh unfairness
screams "no closure"
the wounds opening again- no time
for healing

when a child is left
screaming for her dear life,
and learning of her brother dead
in the nearby classroom

a parent having to identify
her own child, brown chestnut eyes
blown out of sockets,

snack change in blue jean pockets,
coins still warm as body chills
neath metal desk- filled with books

such wasteful learning
child's natural questioning, no longer
burning, soul now churning
into a buttered brevity --

parts of youthful hands charred,
face of innocence in brownie bits-
sent like rockets, into
a vacuous space
of no return

2)

how even the wings of angels burn
into flame- not the blame of any ONE,
but only, the steely cold hearts of politicians

pushing secret papers, fake flowers in vases
in the white house, phony food on plates
spinning out of control- arms race speeding
into human catastrophe

all of us on our faces-- breath muffled against
hearts- sunk like the titanic in a muddied sea
arms tangled messes, legs dangling like
sea anemone- pink and green and metallic blue

3)

why any of this happening is not the business
of children to figure out--it's for the steely
cold hearts of politicians to revamp and review
their collective conscience--

a word they enunciate one day a week
at their beloved church- how church goers go
to church robotized by lack of emotion

for any person place thing, woman man child
in the whole nation- there is room for change
180 degrees--yeah, just do time

in the local jail cleaning, mopping, spraying
the cleansing liquid--that you tried
to use on
a teeming bewildered country--

4)

don't forget to clean between
your ears- that brain of yours
stunted and depraved,
backwards and decrepid

may it rot, you crook!
may it rot in your own
deleterious dunce capped
crooked cocky wasted ways

~kate lamberg (c) '18