The Saddest words

The Saddest Words

The saddest words ever to be spoken, are

“If only we had known.”

Is it a question?

“If only we had known.”

Is it an answer?

“If only we had known.”

Children are put into cages.

            And they remain traumatized their entire lives.

“If only we had known.”

We don’t care enough to change

            And fathers are shot in the back

            And families are destroyed because sons are shot

            Daughters are raped. And unheard

“If only we had known.”

Those sensitive enough, and yet strong enough

            To say, “Enough, enough, enough!”

            Are ridiculed and ignored and medicated

“If only we had known.”

The ones sent to “Serve and Protect” do so

            Only for some

            And buildings burn

“If only we had known.”

And when the very ground beneath our feet becomes quicksand

                        Everywhere we walk

            And the air in our lungs poisons our brains

            And the food in our stomachs straggles our hearts 

“If only we had known.”

You cannot regain the bullet once the trigger is pulled

            It will hit something

                        Or someone

“If only we had known.”

The saddest words ever to be spoken, are

“If only we had known.”

D. Peterson © 2020