March
Author: Anonymous
We’re always in danger
It’s hard to forget
So never, ever
Allow yourself to let
Your guard down,
Even if they say it’s okay,
It’ll start like
It’s any other day
It’s so much like any other day
That I couldn’t tell you the exact date
That it could have happened to us
But I will tell you that I was told late
Later than those in other classes
Because I was the nerd,
Preemptively abandoned
By all of their asses
You pushed your burdens
Upon our shoulders
No longer students,
We’re goddamn soldiers
Desensitized to the death
And destruction
We snapped last March
And we marched
Children we never met
Children we can never know
It took them dying
For us to say ‘no’
Six months later
And it began again
Far too late
To know how many there’s been
We were looked in the eye
And said that we were fine
But the fact that I’m saying this
Proves that was a lie
Sitting alone at lunch once more
Warning my mom what may transpire
Choking down my food
All but waiting for the school to be a pyre
And I am the smart one,
So I’d stay in the back
Waiting for it all to be done
Wasting away when the world snaps back
Our lives mean nothing
Yet you parade us up high
Calling us ‘heros’
But you refuse to stand by
You send thoughts and prayers
As though they were bandages
Like they could help us
We know they’re just adages
I think and I pray
Every single day
But I know it won’t stop a bullet
Do you even think about what you say?
I can tell you the books
That I read during drills
The wars that they held
The imaginary kills
I found solace in violence
That I knew was fake
Because when that cover closed
It was actually over
I read of daring escapes
When I was nine
And now I read of bloodshed
To make myself feel fine
What else was I meant to do
During that forced silence
While others were laughing
I indulged in fantasy violence
Words were shot by teachers
That veered right and hit me instead
But there were no apologies
I was to be grateful for having a head
We had a test during a drill once
A timed one at that I did rather well but my classmates
Still hated math
I wonder now
How selfish I really am
How willing would I be
To take a bullet for my fellow man
I’ve wanted to die at numerous points
In my lifetime
Would I finally lay still
If it was someone else's lifeline?
If I were shot,
Would it be forgot?
Of course my parents would be sad
But how long would it last?
The recognition wouldn’t stay
And as the hashtag fades
I’d be remembered by very few
I turn that question to you
However many may have died,
How many can you name?
I can differentiate from a firework
And a firearm at a moment’s notice
But that doesn’t mean I don’t flinch
And I know how to protect myself in a pinch
You’ve only see a glimpse of our normal
And you still could make a call
Talk to us when you can’t use your phone
When you start to feel truly alone
I could only text my mom
My father was away
I didn’t want to worry him
With might happen that day
If had I called her
We couldn’t have understood
Each other so I just
Texted while crying into my food
You crouched behind century old desks
I curled up and took a test
You got to say goodbye
I would have gotten ready to die
We’re only free from this
Because we’re stuck at home
And once we’re back in there
I’ll feel that special type of alone
That type when you worry about your friends more than you
Because there’s nothing more for you to do
I have been paraded
And placed in a spotlight
But it’s turned away as soon
As I say this isn’t right
We screamed
You ignored
You’ve experienced what makes us bored
It’s a tragedy, really it is
But remember, we’re just kids
I can write poems like this
I can pack in with other kids
I can recite a liar’s pledge
I’ve seen a nation on the edge
Of change
Too many times for it to be true
So until my voice
Isn’t just a noise to you,
I
will
march.
