Wake Me Up

By Joslin Simms

February 2015

I laid my hands on your face
    but you couldn't smile;
I laid my head on your chest
    and stayed there for a while;
        Wake me up

I wiped away the tears
    and asked myself “why”;
Someone shot you, my son
    My baby Ray has died;
        Wake me up

His children and brothers screamed
    Memories raced through our heads;
God, release me from this dream
    God, come take me instead;
        Wake me up

Don’t put him in that cold ground
    Please don’t let him rot away;
His children need their dad around
    Please God, let Ray stay;
        Wake me up

Dry tears, I cannot shed 
    This empty, angry agony;
I lay awake in my midnight bed
    Worn and weary;
        Wake me up

Take away the guns and madness
    Save another family from this sadness;
I can’t fake a smile, or stifle my scream
    anymore;
Wake me up from my walking death
    Wake me up, wake me up