In Memory of Caylee (CTG)

In Memory of Caylee

Even with no annoying cloying Nancy Grace,
Headline News screams out it's Caylee's
sixth birthday, if only -- the long lament. . .
memorialize the day, the bleak anniversary,
see the mosaicked talking heads -- floral
tributes, a limp Pooh, a pink plush teddy on
the orchids and mums and Easter lilies --

viewers urged to dial the toll-free number
or to log on to buy their own inscribed brick
in the walk to be laid down where Caylee's
duct-taped corpse was discovered, her life
consigned to a garbage dump. So we seek
solace, to cling on to what we still believe,
despite everything, a need -- our lost seed.

I recall the death of Jon Benét Ramsey --
murdered before the 24-hour news cycle --
one more stolen life: kid beauty queen
sassily sashaying in tooled boots, white
cowboy hat. No one child's life should be
valued more than any other child's life --
no devalued soul -- no stolen virginity --
no life consigned to a garbage dump.

These days, I sense -- we have
all been robbed of innocence.

Christopher T. George