The Long Arm of the Law

Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay

To Robb Elementary
          the mothers came

When they arrived
they waited not
with bated breath
           but cried out
                     unfettered
the way they did when
           they labored
                     and pushed
                             with all their might
                             through pain, fear
                             resistance, exhaustion
                                         willing their infants into the world
                             into the hands of doctors and nurses
                     midwives and doulas
            then finally into
their very own arms

To Robb Elementary
          the fathers came

When they arrived
they waited not
with quiet dignity
          but shouted
                    with the urgency of men
                              whose homes were being raided
they issued to the warriors on call
a call to arms—
          to protect and serve
          secure and defend
                    with Justice. Integrity. Service.
to embody
          Fidelis ad mortem
                    Faithfulness unto death
to fulfill the promise
          We will when others won’t

But the warriors on call
it turns out
could not be recruited
          not by such rabble
to join the battle
against the lone raider
locked in a room
with the rabble’s children
who also called
               and called
	            and called them to arms
		              from deep inside Room 1-1-2
the long arm of the law
shackled
by its chain of command
fell short on imagination
and fell back on its orders
          to stand back
          maintain a perimeter
          preserve order
          subdue the rabble
          for the rabble’s own good
          even as their homes were raided
          even as their loved ones bled

in the days that ensued
we the people
tried to create
the legend we needed
a real-life Dirty Harry
          who charged ahead
          did what had to be done
          danger and orders be damned
but the fact checkers got us
robbed us of that
leaving us with the sordid truth
that there was no Dakota Meyer
or Daniel Hellings
or David Teich
or even Desmond Doss
that day

References:

1. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/05/27/uvalde-police-were-in-the-school-for-more-than-an-hour-before-confronting-the-gunman/

2. https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/nicole-russell/article261819415.html