268,558
total hearts received for Moments That Survive

Lisa P. Bernstein

In memory of Savanni

Savanni was my co-worker. She was an immigrant who loved America. She was murdered by her estranged husband in front of their daughter in 1993. I wrote two poems about Savanni:

Savanni’s Freedom

The American flag on her desk,
Meant to her
Glorious Freedom.
Freedom she worked for,
Freedom she fought for,
Earned, valued freedom.

But for her it became
Freedom to be killed.
Once dead,
Beyond our scales of justice.

Savanni

Murder.
A word
in a newspaper.
Cold.
Common.
Impersonal.

She is a friend, a face, a voice.
She is a sister. She is an aunt.
She is the mother of a baby – Girl.

Unsuspecting.
A car.
A gun.
Murder.

The 6th Commandment
becomes
sorrow.
Pain.
Numbness.

A hole in her head.
blood empties her body.
A hole in my heart.
Tears empty my soul.

Reacting shows support for gun violence survivors.

268,558