Shooting stars bloom in the womb of infinity,
**** on the wings of the Thunderbirds,
a trail of fairy dust gracing their fiery tracks
as they sear through the gloom of the night skies.
I amble through the folds of the sullen clouds,
collecting the stars
as they wrap me in their cherubic dazzle.
The champagne flourish
of a Pink Diamond Star
flares up in my soul
livening me like the fireflies
that carry me on their blushing wings
as I saunter through the dusky skies
collecting the falling stars
to brighten up my dreary horizon!

funny, isn't it?
no one ever really thinks
about what happens
after a school shooting

someone has to wander
down each hall
and tear out stained carpet
darkened and then thrown out

someone has to clean the walls
spray down each brick
with disinfectant
cleansing away what remains

someone has to look through
old lockers
give jackets and folders
to parents

someone has to convince
everyone else
to come back tomorrow
that it's fine now

someone has to stay in bed

someone has to sit alone at lunch

someone has to have a substitute

someone has to reconsider
saying the pledge of allegiance

I’m afraid
To go somewhere I have the right
I’m afraid
That someone will threaten my life
So many people have passed away
At the hand of another shooting
But at 16, should I be afraid
That the next one could be me?

Last night I saw a shooting star,
and it made me think of you.
Brilliant white, and trailing light,
against a sky of purple blue.

I wonder if you saw it,
and if it made you think of me.
I wonder if you smiled,
as it burned, and ceased to be.

I wonder if you made a wish,
and what that wish could be.
I know it's wishful thinking,
but did it involve me?

Sorry, I know, I'm just wondering,
you probably missed it anyways.
I'll  still hold on to my wish though,
of long forgotten days...

In my homeroom class, we don't have a seating chart.
But I still sit as far away from the door as I can.
Subconsciously it's probably because of a school shooting.
I've been anticipating one to strike at my small high school for a couple years now.
It's probably because of a lock down we had a couple years ago when I was still in middle school.
There were armed men on campus.
We had to be silent for hours.
I was in choir at the time.
Over 100 of us were squeezed into a small space.
There were girls crying,
my best friend was holding my hand,
I was having an anxiety attack.
I was only thinking
"Please not today..."

I'm not surprised anymore.
When another school is in the news,
it's deeply upsetting
but not surprising.
It's all I've ever known.
The Columbine High School shooting happened in 2001.
I was born a year later.
I've never actually known peace in this country...

sitting on the balcony
on a hot summer night
naming the stars
in the fading light

something cuts through the darkness,
black as tar
the distinctive shine
of a shooting star

my eyes trace the path as it crosses the sky,
all my attention it does occupy

i whisper a wish
with my eyes squeezed closed,
when i open them i notice
a secret exposed.

albeit giving off a beautiful glow
it's a cigarette **** that someone let go
it falls to the floor and promptly gets squished
beneath the boot of a stranger;

along with my wish.

She looks at the room in front of her
Students stare back
Neatly arranged in rows
The projector faces her but
She can't help but project on the students facing her
What they would look like in fear
Faces ****** and scarred
The horror of a shooter
The pain of what's lost
The projector faces her but
She can't help but project on these neatly arranged desks
What they would look like empty.

i’m a shooting star
i’ll burn so brightly
so much it hurts myself
in the end
i’ll burn out
but i’ll do it if it means
someone else could be happy
even if it’s for a second
i’ll do it if it means
someone could make a wish
come true