If I die in a school shooting
I'll never go home again.
My room will sit unused,
A capsule frozen in time,
A snapshot of how I was.

If I die in a school shooting
I'll never see my dog again.
She will sit at the front door
Waiting for me and wondering,
Why I never came home.

If I die in a school shooting
I'll never graduate from high school.
My yearbooks will sit stacked
Stopped short of their goal,
Missing years that should have been.

If I die in a school shooting
I'll never see my mom again.
She will sit distraught,
Planning a funeral
For a child taken from her.

If I die in a school shooting
I'll never see my friends again.
They'll sit together, missing me.
One empty seat among them,
A constant reminder of their loss.

If I die in a school shooting
I'll never see my little sister again.
She will sit through high school
Knowing I can't guide her through,
That she has to figure it out alone.

If I die in a school shooting
My school will be stained.
Pools of students lives will sit,
Blood tattoos on the brick structures,
Marks of death ground into it.

If I die in a school shooting
Everyone will wear black.
They'll send their thoughts and prayers
To a town marred by death,
Forever to be the home of a shooting.

If I die in a school shooting
Will the world change?
Or will I become one of hundreds  
Of kids who have to die?
What will it take?

If things continue this way
Children will have to live in fear.
They'll look over their shoulders
Always worried and wondering,
If they'll die in a school shooting.

"To The Men, I have Loved and the lessons I have learned."

To the boy who hid in the shadows:

You taught me how to plant the flowers of love.
You showed me the colors and the different names
moreover, you taught me how to tend to them all.
Then I learned you lied to me and told me all the wrong names
so now my garden is twisted and confused.
You then left taking my Freesia’s in hand.

To the boy who hid in the trees.

You went garden to garden, loved to plant the first seed.
You taught me how the roses moved in the night.
However, you stilled lived in other gardens and took my roses.
You left my garden with patches of nothing
and made me feel like I deserved it.


Now my garden; already struggling to stay alive.
What was I do? I was already so sad.

Then to the boy who lived in the spotlight:

You came to my garden with roses in hand
promising to help restore what had been lost
for your garden had been plucked as well.
However, you only came for what was left of my roses and took my elderflowers as well.

You only cared for yourself.
And well you,
you taught me not to trust anymore.

So for the next boy who comes to my garden.
Come with a sword and a shield.
Because now I’ve learned how to grow my flowers with thorns.
So I’ll guard my garden until the day I learn which flower is love.

When you find a friend
You hold and help them
You lift them up when they are down
You hold them up when they feel good
You help them find who they are
They help you find you
They love you and you love them
You are family
Family isn't who you're born to
It's the people you love and who love you
So find your friends
Because they just might be your family