Stained red

This is your home
Regardless of the apparent danger you face daily
The white snow of January pierces the gray sidewalk in the bitter winter
As the snow progresses, it becomes evidently changed

The snow is now stained red
Stained with the homicide of innocent Chicago civilians
Some are children playing, Some are mothers or fathers on their way home
And you feel uncaring politicians watch the snow from their high towers downtown

3000 people were shot in 2015
507 of those people were killed by the violence forced upon them
Every 2 minutes and 55 seconds, a Chicago resident is shot
And every 17 and a half minutes, another civilian is murdered in cold blood

As spring approaches
The red stained snow melts
The residue from the snow trickles down the storm drains but the red stain remains
Now covering the sidewalk like chalk unable to be washed out

You hope police would stop this madness and help the red stain leave
But they let it slip by
You hope politicians will help
But they won’t acknowledge the stain
So you hope with the next winter, the stain will be covered with pure white snow
Because although the city is dangerous, it is your home.