Brought to You by: Avoidable Tragedies for the Sake of Your Pride

Yesterday, I read an article
on what to do
when someone opens fire.

The author, so intelligently
and accurately, defining “when”
as opposed to “if,”
knowing at this rate,
there’s no stopping it.
As if to prepare me,
either tomorrow,
or two years from now,
how to hide from a stranger
shooting up a grocery store;
to never believe it is just fireworks
in the parking lot.

I’m so proud to be alive in a time
where the priority lies
in keeping the freedom
of trigger-happy hands,
and letting the world know
what to expect.
My kids will know better
than to leave the house
without bullet-proof vests.

Yesterday, I read an article
on what to do
when someone opens fire.
In the end, I don’t know
how much it will help.
The reality of it is
I could hear the gunshots too late,
I could be one of the first
to get picked off,
or I could not have read this article.
But thank God it was there,
I feel so much safer.

By Schuyler Peck

Biography:

Born of college-ruled notebooks and the smell of lemon grass, Schuyler Peck was raised in New Jersey, but she’ll never tell you that. Instead, she’ll tell you there are pieces of her everywhere; planted in trees and shipped off to the moon. Her poetry, however, can be found in her book, A Field of Blooming Bruises, Words Dance Publications, Literary Sexts V. 2, Rising Phoenix Press, JuxtaProse Magazine, and schuylerpeck.tumblr.com. She loves you.