Jim Yerman - Another Sad Day

Thursday was another sad day as another life went unfulfilled
A colleague of a friend of mine was waiting for a bus when he was shot and killed.

This man was coming to the hospital to assist with an emergency surgery
When he was murdered right out on the street; part of a bungled robbery.

How sadly ironic that this man, who, like every man, is our brother
Had his life taken away from him on his way to help save another.

It was just another shooting in America Thursday, there are usually 289
What made this one different is he was a friend of a friend of mine.

Otherwise would it have registered? ...Oh, I seriously doubt it
In fact since it happened in Ohio I probably wouldn’t have even heard about it.

We have become accustomed to this type of violence, we no longer ask the question Why?
We know out of the 289 people shot each day 87 of them are going to die.

I’m not sure what is sadder that each day 289 shootings are taking place
Or that the number no longer bothers us as shootings have become commonplace.

Perhaps if every murder every day was splashed across the evening news
That would make a difference, that would finally change our views.

Would it be different if we knew that every 17 minutes in the rise and setting of our sun
Someone in America is killed at the hands of someone with a gun.

When we look at the sheer numbers how can we not weep or shriek
When we do the math and calculate we lose over 600 people every week?

It is sad to think my friend’s friend is gone when he was here one day before
And even sadder to think we can multiply that family’s grief by over 600 more.

This is a problem in our society, the numbers do not lie
It leaves many of us frustrated as for another death we cry.

Until something is done to curb this violence that everyone deplores
I’m afraid today will be as sad or sadder than it was the day before.

Jim Yerman

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/another-sad-day-2/