Hadiya Pendleton, Chicago Honor Student, (In Memorial) R.I.P.

"She was an amazing person -- always positive," - classmate Bria Carter

Hadiya Pendleton

(CLEVELAND) - She participated in the inaugural festivities in Washington, D.C.,
15 years old, King College Prep Marching Band, she would see,
President Barrack Obama & history in the making for a 2nd time,
Back home in Chicago, dismissed from school early, all was fine.

Finished with her exams, huddled under a canopy, avoiding rain,
A local park, 2:30 P.M. with a dozen others, then the shots came,
As a lone gunman jumped a fence then opened fire in the crowd,
And like the aftermath at Sandy Hook, parents weeping out loud.

2 more were shot, probably rival gang members, aimed & missed,
While this scenario has and will play out again, an innocent kiss,
Kiss of death that is, once again the intended only suffer wounds,
The vibrancy of preciousness coupled with promise ends too soon.

Although Pendleton didn’t have gang affiliation they were on scene,
Association with the wrong put an end to Hadiya’s hopes & dreams,
Some in the group were fellow student members of the volleyball team,
Gunshots sent everyone running from the park amid panic and screams.

Armed with deadly force the gangbanger had no consciousness of life,
Hit or miss, for whatever reason, someone had to pay, wrong or right,
“All of it makes no sense,” Lakeisha Stewart told the Chicago Tribune,
“She was following (her parents) rules” but it didn’t make her immune

Very well liked honor student, athlete, majorette at King College Prep,
And yet there is one major factor in these incidents all tend to forget,
Bullets don’t have feelings you’ll be killed as the target or by chance,
1st The Capital, next on her agenda a trip with classmates to Paris France.

There were 500 known murders in Chicago last year with 42 as of 1/29/13,
Statistics can sometimes be misleading so elaborate exactly what it means,
Well, we can talk about, make and pass however many laws on gun control,
Effect will be minimal if we continue to release convicted killers on parole.

Jay Carney said’ “Obama’s prayers are with the family it’s a terrible tragedy,”
Here is a better idea, get with Congress and come up with a better strategy,
"She was an amazing person -- always positive," classmate Bria Carter said,
So were the 20 elementary kids at Sandy Hook however, they too are dead.

In Germany due to no speed limits it takes 6 months to get a license to drive,
Imagine if it took that long to get gun permits how many more might be alive,
Through proper training and learning of firearms rules along with procedures,
Municipalities could safely arm private citizens and most importantly teachers.

By Luke Easter

More background on this story: President Obama Says He's Praying for Hadiya Pendleton, but Is that All He's Going to Do?

Luke Easter is a poet who writes about things that are very close to the heart of Salem-News.com. Another former U.S. Marine, Luke heals the world with an approach that reaches people on a different level, one known for centuries, yet too often forgotten in the one we live in.

We live in a world of social & economic injustice. The main reason for founding America in the first place was to relieve the oppression of the King of England. Patrick Henry said it best, “give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, all too often death seems to be the only way out. Why is there such a high suicide rate especially among teens, in the land of the free & the home of the brave? What makes headlines? Good news? Ha! More depressing stories than anything else. I feel poetry takes an edge off the hurt of bad news while still delivering it but in a, “glitzy” sort of way. Giving a different perspective. Kind of like slap in the face as opposed to a knife in the back. At least with the slap you’ll live to see another day and you will know whom it’s from. I wasn’t here for the beginning of the world but at 59, I just might be here for the end.

Even though it’s still a knife, rhyme poetry helps to dull the blade. And that’s my job. You can write to Luke Easter at: lyricsfromlucas@aol.com