My insides are stained
Indelibly
With the blood
Of innocent children
They came to learn
They came to play
Not in bulletproof vests
Not with bulletproof backpacks
They were not trained
In how to restrain
An active shooter on site
They screamed, they fell
Their silence now dwells
Within the confines
Of my walls-
I am marred
By bodies charred
By a weapon of destruction
The weapon that was
Not the problem, they said
It was the mind, mind you..
I only know this is true-
My walls could not
Protect the children inside
I had no corners
Where they could hide
I grieve, I mourn
I am now an infamous place
My name added
To a list unfortunate
The list that grows
Every year while those
Who should have grown
Shall never get the chance..
Passion...unbridled 