~Authors Note: The violence currently playing out in many american cities is more than disheartening. There are those sent to do their jobs. There are those who try to peacefully protest. And then there are those, who make a mess of things on both sides. This poem I wrote with Minnesota on my mind.
In a world that is clashing; clanking and screeching with noise
Pay attention to severe injustice girls and boys
The restlessness in their guts rumbles in the moon-dead dark
Fear, co-mingling rage, takes a stand on a lark
They become tomcats, blood feuding their patch of alley
No, they have not gone mad like them in Cali
Nor have they turned stupid, prowling the cities for trouble
Conflict brought tension and divide; burst everyone's bubble
Guess what? Bodies weren't designed to catch bullets that hate
Wickedness set it up, so the defenseless take the bait
Crowds caught aswirl in pepper sprayed, tear-gassed tyranny
What laws are being upheld, there's the true irony
Rocketed fireworks as a means to protest
Weaponizing violence will win you no contest
This is not how you do it peacefully folks!
I know, evil instigates, prods-pokes, prods-pokes, prods-pokes
On and on, the craziness grows out of control
Innocent people are getting hurt on lawful patrol
Anxiety cooks brains, trust has been revoked
Everyone's life is on the line, all sides are provoked
© Donna H.
January 18, 2026
In a world that is clashing; clanking and screeching with noise
Pay attention to severe injustice girls and boys
The restlessness in their guts rumbles in the moon-dead dark
Fear, co-mingling rage, takes a stand on a lark
They become tomcats, blood feuding their patch of alley
No, they have not gone mad like them in Cali
Nor have they turned stupid, prowling the cities for trouble
Conflict brought tension and divide; burst everyone's bubble
Guess what? Bodies weren't designed to catch bullets that hate
Wickedness set it up, so the defenseless take the bait
Crowds caught aswirl in pepper sprayed, tear-gassed tyranny
What laws are being upheld, there's the true irony
Rocketed fireworks as a means to protest
Weaponizing violence will win you no contest
This is not how you do it peacefully folks!
I know, evil instigates, prods-pokes, prods-pokes, prods-pokes
On and on, the craziness grows out of control
Innocent people are getting hurt on lawful patrol
Anxiety cooks brains, trust has been revoked
Everyone's life is on the line, all sides are provoked
© Donna H.
January 18, 2026