Writers have always had the power to make a difference (along with a lot of other people; most people, in fact) as long as they write from the heart and don’t shut up.

People You Know

I saw people I knew in those 18 faces.
Good people having a good time
maybe thinking three years ago, how impossible
reveling in the now, living the moment,
reminiscing, slapping each other on the back,
wooden chairs scraping on a wooden floor, 
playing pool, the clatter of the break,
bowling, pins falling, munching nachos, wings,
washing it down with hoppy beer,
anticipating the coming winter, next week snow,
raising glasses to hearty spirits and community
until they weren’t.

Those who hold guns higher than human life
fight for the right to carry
may believe in heaven but will
most certainly incinerate in hell.