Written on the Walls

These walls are covered
In the scarlet red ink
Of blood
Written in cursed cursive
And why am I compelled
To read
These ominous words
Foretelling death?

They say
Curiousity killed the cat
But it consumes us humans
We pry in others' business
Wanting to know
Needing to know
What happened
When we don't belong there
Why do we insist
On reading
The words on these walls

The media portrays
Only the negative side
Of things
They devote an hour
Or ten pages
Of a death
Caused by gang violence
When only five minutes
Or two paragraphs
Mention that a life
Was saved today
We are attracted to negativity
We crave despair
The writing on the walls