I want to know,

How people do what they do.

How one man,

Can take the life of another,

With his,

Fists of fury,

And bullets of bitterness.

How a parent,

Can corrupt a child’s innocence;

For their own twisted pleasure,

And gratification.

How a husband,

Can defile his wife,

Beyond recognition,

In the name of

Religion,

And honor.

How a mother,

Could choose,

Drugs or alcohol,

Over her child’s

Desperate cries.

How someone,

Could abuse an animal,

Who only desires to,

Love and protect;

For game,

Or sport

Or just because they can.

I want to know,

How the world works.

How peace and love,

Come second to

Money and power.

How a woman’s clothes,

Could warrant,

Sexual assault.

And how the fate

Of that same woman;

Then decided by a congregation of,

Old, white men.

How alliances and treaties,

Mean turning our backs on

Truth and justice.

How two men’s love

Can spark vicious crimes,

And a culture of hate.

How the right to one’s beliefs

Comes with exceptions and consequences.

If I don’t know now,

Maybe I never will.

Maybe,

I never want to.

-Kathryn Loden