Desensitization

it all began when

turning on the news became an awful chore

glancing at the names and numbers

ate at her inside

but the weatherman laughed at the anchorman

and said “now back to you”

then escalated when

outside a coffee shop

a man sat cold and still

and every single person

found something interesting on their phone

or across the street

that disappeared after they had passed him

then grew when

a little girl right down the street

was found dead inside her home

beaten to death by a father

who never knew how to love

and her funeral was empty

the air filled by her heavy sobs

and she questioned those who said

“everything happens for a reason”

she remembered when

crisp Sunday mornings

were spent in pigtails and bouncy dresses

inside a musty small town church

and the preacher said

to fear the Devil

but she knew there was more to fear

now fourteen years later

she wishes she could go back

to the church with the white paint chipping off the cross

and tell the girls with pigtails

to fear those who turn their heads away

when everything is wrong