Pulse

I have a Pulse
it's racing
I am angry

I am angry at the culture which has bred hate
so strong
it was willing to take as many live as it had bullets,
which,
thanks to the nauseating apathy of these people,
my people,
was a lot of fucking bullets.

I am angry that the people who have stoked this fire
still, now,
work every moment to breed more hate, blaming
entire groups
for the acts of singular men, allowing them to falsely
represent
who we call "their people."

This country has a Pulse
we are a living, breathing populous.

We are not numbers,
we are lives.

We are not names
we are not hashtags
we are not a trending issue
or a headline

we are lives
we have hearts
we have hopes, dreams, faith, fear, anger, love
a heartbeat
a Pulse