Jennifer Lagier

NEVER SEE MORNING

The sirens begin
around 2 a.m.,
notify neighbors
another home invasion
or gang-related shooting
has just gone down.

Yellow crime tape
cordons off
signs of forced entry.
Dark stains disfigure concrete.
Bullet-riddled cars
parked along the curb
bleed broken glass.

Victims in body bags
will never see morning.
Cops cuff, haul away
tattooed, teenage perps.


Jennifer reads "Never See Morning":



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Jennifer confesses: "The growing homicide rate in Monterey County, mostly fueled by gang-related murders and home invasions, were the inspiration for this poem. Recently a man was shot to death in a parking garage along Cannery Row in Monterey, a gang-hit. The perpetrator was apprehended and arrested. He is part of a gang based in my own little home town of Marina."

JENNIFER LAGIER has published thirteen books and in literary magazines, taught with California Poets in the Schools, co-edits the Homestead Review, helps coordinate Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium Second Sunday readings. Newest books: Scene of the Crime (Evening Street Press), Harbingers (Blue Light Press), Camille Abroad (FutureCycle Press). Visit her website.