What’s overheard

is the herd

of inciters

denying

culpability

when ,

unsurprisingly,

shots were

fired

during

a Trump

rally.

The shooter

was shot

and got

what he

sought,

which brought

instantaneous

blame

on the rhetoric

of the heretic-

laden

other 

side.

My initial

reaction

was inaction;

I think

I am numb

at this point.

The violence

expected;

the blame

projected.

I’m glad 

that Trump

was protected

and it 

only pierced

his ear.

Not that 

that’s 

nothing;

but we saw

the luckiest

duck.

In a country

run amok

with violent

speech

and hate,

that victorious

fist pump—

symbolic

if not

iconic

of Trump(ism)—

as he was

ushered

off the stage,

fuels

the rage

to engage.

In this first

attempted

assassination

in the social

media age,

we are all

within 

earshot

of the next

shooter.