Show and Tell

no more dolls    
no more toys  
no more games    
    
by middle school    
childhood is not just gone    
   
its obliterated    
   
an eighth grader    
brought a gun to school    
he's showing his friends    
one of his besties    
gets to hold the clip    
this goes on    
for three days    
finally a student reports it    
   
a week ago:    
a lockdown    
close to two hours    
note in the high school boys bathroom:    
"I'm going to shoot up the school"    
underneath    
a smiley 😊    
perhaps gun threats    
bring him joy    
when joy is hard to find    
   
a month ago    
a fifth grader    
made a Tik Tok video    
threatening to kill his teacher    
one of the most beloved    
educators in our school    
bad grade?    
reported behavior to parents?    
who knows    
   
spin the wheel    
   
Show and Tell for teachers:    
this is my scar    
from when a bullet grazed me    
my student    
has an anger management problem    
she was having an especially bad day    
   
inevitably    
someone will comment    
the teacher was lucky  
   
please don't be that person    
   
Show and Tell    
this is a picture    
of my aunt    
my brother    
my cousin    
my mother    
my friend    
my son    
shortly before they were shot   
doing the job they loved    
while trying to make the world    
a better place