If It Were My Child

If it were my child
I would stand in the middle of a busy street and scream until my voice left my body.
If it were my child
I would rip out every hair from my head until I covered the grass with my pain.
If it were my child
I would scale the tallest building and stomp until it fell down.
If it were my child
I would beat my chest and bare my fangs and throw myself up against glass until it shattered --
Like my spirit.
They are… they were all our children.
All our grandparents.
All our neighbors.
Our friends and relatives.
Innocent.
They don’t deserve to die in vain.
I must always act as if it were my child or my parent or my friend.
We cannot go on this way.
Or we can no longer call ourselves human.