Kenley

Kenley had a heart like a block of wood
  He carved it in the shape of a gun
Loaded it with tears he would never cry
  Kenley’s lonely life had begun
Kenley came unwanted, an only child
  His father spent his life on the road
His mother thought that love was the gifts she gave
  Kenley would ignite and explode

	Small, bullied oversensitive to touch
	Didn’t speak ‘til he was 3 years old
	Parents separated when he was nine
	Didn’t shiver when he got cold

Kenley liked the dark and the video screen
  1st person shooter games took most of his time
Always an outsider, friendships never took
  Obsessed with Columbine

When did the light in his heart go out?
  What were the warning signs?
What pushed him over that very sharp edge?
  Where a wooden heart would do just fine?

Kenley dressed in black on an autumn day
  Cleaned the Glock and the AR-15
Filled his cargo pockets with extra clips
  A different morning routine
Kenley got to homeroom a little late
  Locked the door once he was inside
Took the rifle from his coat, chambered a round
  The trigger spoke, the gun replied

	Screaming, crying bullets tore through kids he knew
	They ran but had no place to go
	He fired then reloaded, blood so red he almost grinned
	Felt the power he had longed to know

When did the light in his heart go out?
  What were the warning signs?
What pushed him over that very sharp edge
  Only wooden hearts cross that line

Commotion in the hallway, they were opening the door
  Kenley knew his time was at an end
He laid the rifle down, drew the pistol from his belt
  One last bullet he had yet to spend
The Glock to his temple, his very last thought
  Will I feel this or hear the sound?

Music and lyrics by Coddy Nuckols
© Nuckoltunes (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved