NVN Tuesday: DEAR JUDY
a duplex poem
by Trish Hopkinson
*
Today, a successful assassination
happened near where you last lived.
In Utah, where I once lived with you
a right-wing activist was shot dead.
In Evergreen, a school shooter was shot dead
on the same Wednesday in Colorado.
It’s Wednesday in Utah and Colorado
where I now live, 200 miles from the dead
no longer living: two men, shot dead,
two schoolchildren fatally wounded.
This year, four kids dead, thirty-five wounded.
They were not soldiers; they were students.
Murder on campus, witnessed by students,
no ear grazed: successful assassination.*
Trish Hopkinson is a poet and advocate for the literary arts. You can find her online at SelfishPoet.com. Her poetry has been published in several literary magazines and journals, and her most recent book A Godless Ascends was published by Lithic Press in March 2024. Hopkinson happily answers to labels such as atheist, feminist, and empty nester; and enjoys traveling, live music, and craft beer.
Powerful--with a perfect last line. Thank you.
This is a tough form, but you've done it beautifully.