Firecrackers

Like Hell pelting a tin roof-

With tiny bursts of
Penetrating sound

And flame exploding,
Bullets pierce metal

And Flesh. 

The barrage, echoing 

Relentlessly through halls

Once full of life

Until a ghostly silence

Ultimately prevails.

The Impenetrable

Assaulted and Lacerated.

Glass and Lives shattered.

Children found hiding, their

Blood-soaked clothes gaping--

Weeping for

Futures lost,

Reduced to a 
Moment in Time.

Forever Victims

For all

The World

To Mourn

And Ask... 
"Why?"

**The preceding poem was inspired by a drive-by school shooting while teaching French/English at O. Henry Middle School, Austin, TX, back in the early 90's. One student was injured. O. Henry was on lock down the rest of the year. Security changed. Everything changed from that moment forward.