Mourning Announcements

First period 

A busy day 

We file in like soldiers 

On the teenage defence 

Tucked behind my desk

Peeling at the paint 

Speaker squeaks 

Then hisses 

Rings 

A low voice 

Stand for the anthem 

Stay standing for morning prayers 

Amen

You may sit 

Oh, 

And a moment of silence 

For the boy who took his life last night 

Keep your head down 

Say nothing 

See something 

Do nothing 

Dead 

A lousy muffled goodbye 

Drowned out by laughter through the halls

Echoes of happiness 

Or is it sneering 

Chewed up like the pieces of gum beneath my seat 

Spit out through the speaker 

Morning announcements 

Mourning announcement 

What was his name again

I did not catch it 

Have I ever met him

Doesn’t matter now 

The bell has rang

I must begin to solve the equations

On my pale white sheet 

Failing 

Learning about numbers and fractions, decimals I’ll never use 

Wondering why 

We are not taught 

Compassion 

Empathy 

Nor understanding 

Why the curriculum 

Is a numbers game 

The way the student body 

Is a numbers game 

Take 2,125

Subtract 1 

What do you get? 

An utterly depressing moment of silence 

Filled with the noise of ignorance 

Eye rolls from children 

Ready to start their day 

Who else may be hurting 

They don’t ask 

Open your textbooks to page 78 

Read quietly 

And try to dissect all the ways in which we have been wronged 

Need not education 

For mental mitigation 

Need a reason 

To stick it out 

Just one more day 

Only two more years 

Then a life time 

Author's Note

Wrote quickly last night, thinking about the poor boy who took his life when I was in high school - mental health matters in any and all institutions.

Reviews

[light and ashes]

I really like this documentation of your thoughts and feelings while mediating on such a young life that has tragically been lost.
This is really powerful. I think it should be read everywhere.

[The Things She Noted]

Thank you so much for saying that, it can be hard to put grief in to words so I appreciate your sentiments! :)

[light and ashes]

You're welcome, I think you did a great job of it.