15 members of family by right
30 members by choice
flew 2000 miles to a wedding of two men
After 10 years together
something to celebrate, insistent,
enduring love
Perfectly planned
Chris did that, details, everything a choice, no defaults
This was the early-arrival party, suite 32135, Mandalay Bay
at the end of a hall so long as to lose the endpoint
In geometry
He must have been stocking it for us, for days
Lovely, windows as walls, our party
mirrored against the lights of the Vegas Strip
Of course this is where we draw parallels
repeat actions so similar the irony is inescapable,
that’s expected
But it’s the unexpected we can’t escape
There is no exit, no retreat from evil
and so we back away, wide-eyed
Walls as windows—two sight lines, one site
He stocked it for days, the cameras show
dragging guns, ammunition, down a hall so long,
so straight, police had no cover,
creating time
to pursue the purpose of suite 30135, Mandalay Bay
a massacre,
perfectly planned
a corrupt mind
beyond madness, a vile soul
with 22 guns, 1,100 rounds
Paddock shot down, into, at, without choice
hitting 480, killing 58
leaving a riot of pain and millions scarred
with why