The sound of the zipper closing that black
body bag
Each time I hear it I am prone to gag
A life, often times young, has come to a
premature end
It seems that this type of scene is becoming
a trend
Only God knows the lost potential that body
bag now conceals
Or the pain this victim’s family and friends
will feel
Time will help heal the this pain and life
will go on
But part of this community is forever gone
Some take such an event serious; some are
seemingly unconcerned
Such events should not be taken lightly and
from them lessons learned
A life lost to violence is an injury to us
all
If this trend continues our communities will
fall
All lives matter and are part of the mix
Senseless violence is a problem it takes a
community to fix
Even if you have not been personally
affected
From the problem you cannot remain
disconnected
This poem has no words to describe an easy
solution
Unchecked violence in a community is the
worst kind of pollution
There exist a multitude of causes which
contribute to this concern
We must identify and address them, for a
solution we must yearn
©Kent Fletcher
April 2016
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kent Fletcher
retired as Deputy Chief of the Durham NC
Police Dept. He served with that department
for 301/2 years. He is a graduate of the
162nd session of the FBI National Academy
and has an AA and BS degree in Justice
Administration from Guilford College.
Writing short stories and poetry has become
a part-time hobby. He can be reached at
hkfletcher@nc.rr.com