Walk Down the Hallway

Today,

As I walked down my school hallway,

On the way to the library,

I heard the security guards talking

I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, 

But when you hear someone say,

“Which kid that got shot this weekend are you talking about”

You tend to pay attention

Because here’s the thing,

I am a kid.

In a school.

A place to learn.

A place I’m supposed to feel safe in.

I should only be worried about the presentation I have in a couple minutes,

Not that at any moment,

I could be the kid they are talking about

And it really gets me

Because it’s nothing new to them

It’s as fresh as canned food

And it happens all the time

It shouldn’t,

But it does.

And it’s normalized

Cause it’s normal, right?

A kid getting shot

A kid doing the shooting

A kid texting their loved ones

“someone has a gun”

an email going out

“don’t come to the school

it’s not safe yet”

But is it ever safe?