Lockdown Drill

Author: Anonymous

Run

Hide

Fight

You should do the other two first

Because you won’t win in a fight

but if you do hide

Most likely in the bathroom

Pull your feet up

Don’t go to the gym

Or the cafeteria

You’ll be a sitting duck

Honestly, you should run

Start knocking on doors

We’d rather add you to the headcount than strike you from the roster

Textbooks are heavy

Too heavy to throw but

Thick enough to slow it down

You’ll need to be quiet

And your eyes should stay open

If they can see you, hold your breath

Look outside before you run

Because they’re probably alone but

We don’t want to take that chance

Stay in the corner

Away from the windows so

They won’t see you if they break the glass

If you hear the threat

You tell an adult and then

You spread the word

The adult might not believe you

But the kids don’t have a choice

This is what the drills are for

Statistically speaking

They know your drills

That is why you run

You were paying attention

You know they’re important

Right?

You hid

You made the barricade

You learned the nearest exit

You got your first-aid training 

You know what to tell the police

You know where we count you

Right?

You know we won’t be able to keep you safe

Right?

About the Piece

This was originally written as a spoken word piece; this format is how I chose to translate that into a written format. The text is intended to be read from top to bottom, with the different columns serving as two different voices. The left and right columns are the two voices, with the center column being the two of them speaking in unison. The finishing of one another’s sentences is a testament to how drilled in the safety procedures, both official and unofficial, are into student’s heads. This entire piece is composed of actual advice I have been told, and the refrains in the piece refer to the redundancy of conversation that arises after a shooting occurs.