Before bed I read one of the more recent HuffPost Headlines: “157 Republicans Just Opposed Renewing the Violence Against Women Act”

I fell asleep thinking of all the daughters that
will puff into clouds of gun shots

The echo that reverberates throughout the
skeletons of all the women who lay in the
unmarked graves of shell casings

I wonder if I could string the bullets together
wrap it around the necks of those who
claim 2nd Amendment Rights would feel the
same when the choice to breathe no longer
felt like their own

Their hearts beat faster

The ricochet of their heads cracking back
They look at the ghosts that stand before
them

The women in broken heels
The women with dirty feet
The women in socks and slippers
worn out sneakers and converse

The snapped necks of the once left-sided
raise their hands asking for help

The shadows loop around them
bend down close in response to the pleads
they feel so connected to

Saying the only thing they have heard most
“We’re sorry, we can’t hear you”

Chokes them

Devon Ward is a graduate from Buffalo State College and is currently pursing a degree in Nursing. You can find her on Instagram @devon_with_an_o and on Twitter @D3vthed3von.