As the morning bell was sounding
We settled in our seats,
And Ms. Williams wrote upon the board
The list of work we would complete.
It felt like any other day
With no apparent change.
The sounds around me so familiar,
Every moment seemed the same.
The whispers of my closest friends,
A class singing down the hall,
Ms. Williams' soft, assuring voice,
And the squeaking of her chalk.
Anticipation of our lunchtime break
And my choice, PB and J,
Then back to work until the final bell
And the end of our school day.
But then in one split second
Our whole world came crashing down,
When the safety we all had shared
Was shattered by a booming sound.
That booming sound continued.
It seemed to come from everywhere.
I could hear some children screaming
And a smoky, egg smell in the air.
Ms. Williams looked so frightened
That my heart began to pound.
I felt myself begin to panic
As we all dropped to the ground.
Beneath our desks we huddled
While we held our best friends tight.
I closed my eyes and held my breath
And cowered there in fright.
I thought about my Mom and Dad
And knew that soon they'd come.
But then he breached our classroom door
And started shooting everyone.
Sally drooped inside my arms!
We were falling one by one!
Blood was splattered everywhere
As he wielded his big gun!
The world was growing darker now
And I shivered from the cold.
I reached for Sally's bloody hand
So I had something I could hold.
We prayed someone would save us
And take this monster far away.
But each moment we grew wearier
Until we knew it was too late.
And then the last bell of the day
Echoed loudly through the halls.
But instead of children's laughter
There was not a single sound at all!
School Shootings
No One Saved Us (Dedicated To Victims Of School Shootings)
Published by Family Friend Poems August 26, 2022 with permission of the Author.
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ABOUT THE POET:
I was raised in Trenton, NJ, the middle of three children in an Irish American family. I always enjoyed writing from my early childhood and over the years, I kept journals with poems I wrote. At the age of 16, I discovered my Calling when I went Christmas caroling at the local psychiatric hospital. After graduating from the College of New...