Mountebank Brand Tea
by Philip Brent

Hark, there has been yet another mass shooting
And for me, at least, such news is growing so old
Headlines all become just me-too dull and boring
And I’d think us better off if we were never told

This wild-west shoot-em-up now commonplace
And it blurs together, so oft echoed, a daily cant
So numbed by reality, we cannot keep the pace
And daily we hear of those killing who they want

Leaders who could change this don’t give a damn
And screw them all, except they might shoot me
If the climate changes, they can take it on the lam
And guns-a-plenty protect them, for a minor fee

Our games, our shows, our news glorify violence
And we are pretending this will not leave a mark
Blithely lived, our lives, shell-shocked into silence
And it cannot matter if we are shot dead, so hark