Throwing Rocks Was Easy

I watched some kids kill a chipmunk
in the campground this morning
just for fun.
They didn’t have a gun
like the kids on the street.
They didn’t need to kill that little thing.

Throwing rocks was easy.
It made them happy to watch that creature
die.
And it gave them power.
Being mean was second nature.
They wore it well,
like a badge.

And these were privileged kids.

Where did we go so wrong?
What have our sons become?
Have they buried their conscience,
their compassion, like bones?

Along side the sins of their parents?