It’s scary to check in with cleveland.com
Wonder how close the killings came today
One was Thursday morning early
Lakewood guy shot by home invaders
In a house on W30th south of Clark
The Friday one in broad afternoon sun
Near my old neighborhood and damn close
To Shaker E145th near Kinsman
Shot in the street several times
Didn’t no one see nothing snitch
You’ll be next who’s going to talk
When you don’t know if the
Person ringing your doorbell is
Looking to take you out for some
Real or imagined affront maybe they
Meant to ring for the guy upstairs
But the wiring was messed years ago
By some crosseyed repairman
So you relabelled the buzzers
Called it a fix now today it’s fatal
To answer your door
Worse what if you send your kid
To check because you’re washing the dishes
Think of that on the day you’re
Wearing a new black dress
As his friends carry his casket
Out the door of the funeral home
With all your women friends wailing
Since they closed the lid on him
Looking quite handsome in the
New blue suit who would have graduated
Third in his class and gone to college
Unlike his brother to the army
Is there somewhere to live
Where you could be safe
Sending your youngest to see
Who’s at the door two streets over
In the suburbs maybe a farm
I can barely do this pay for a house
In what used to be a reliably nice
Neighborhood near lots of churches
Other people like me who understand
How hard it is just to be people get shot
In the suburbs too sometimes by crazies
In their own family or by cops too eager
To bust down a door didn’t check the address
Ma it’s the mailman wants you to sign
Oh my God thank you it’s the mailman
With a package from Vonnie
Oh what was I thinking can he understand
Why you grabbed him and kissed him
Kept the mailman waiting
c. J.S.Manista, 2015
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