A Portuguese Man O’ War sails by
Its name originating from a ship of war
Both have sails, both sturdy structures
Both deadly
The colonial Man ‘O War is anchored
By its tentacles sometimes reaching
Between 30 and 100 feet below the watery
Surface while its small sail moves along with
Ocean currents and winds
Each Man O’ War’s colonies come from the same egg
Zooids have different jobs underneath the
Surface of water, some hunting, some
Digesting, some reproducing
Like humans, sea creatures live their lives
Evolving, developing ways
To eat, digest, move, and have babies
So the species will survive
Old warships certainly had purposes
Functions, did their jobs, protecting by
Shooting canons, battling the enemy, but
Like musket loading, canons take time and energy
A bit cumbersome, taking time to
Effectively effect their power
Too bad assault style weapons
Don't kill slowly like muskets
Rather, rapid fire mass of bullets
Tear through living bodies
Assault weapons mow down children
As fast as a rainfall, or a flash flood
We create these weapons
Perhaps once meant to protect a country
That offers food, shelter, safety and
The pursuit of happiness
Too bad a single individual (for whatever reason)
Can kill massive amounts of children
With hardly a moment of intervention
Obstacle or barrier
Murdering children like the drop of a hat
A Covenant, a contract made between
At least two
What kind of Covenant
Does an assault weapon create?
With whom?
We are all complicit
Knowingly or not
We are still agreeing to
This covenant
Even now
