Let schools be schools again

Let the parents not weep as they drive away from carline

Let the teachers not turn their bodies to shields

Let the children live past nine years.

Let schools be schools again

Where lessons aren’t focused on survival

And the red flags in teenage boys are acknowledged

Let the coffins not be built for such tiny bodies. 

Let schools be schools again

Let my baby sister not ask me how to hide from a shooter

Let my little brother not feel like a lamb to the slaughter

All because we care more about attendance and scores than the safety of a child.