FOr the NRA by Ashley Frerichs

Replace your rifle with a gladiola,
swap your handgun for a daisy.
Hold beauty in place of violence
and see what happens.
You. Yes you, with the twitching fingers,
when was the last time you smelled a flower?
Press mute on your hatred
suspend your judgments
if only long enough to set your pupils
on an emperor dahlia,
let your irises reflect the
viridescence of its stem.
Its neck holds up its head
just like you.
We’re all the same,
don’t you see?