Sacrifice

Cross a playground
bullets tear flesh
dark puddle
on the blacktop
laughter of children
potential targets
echo.
Weary body
an easy shot
moving steadily
toward a daughter waiting
but never rescued
at the end
of a long school day.

By Noriko Nakada

A poem from Disarm: A Themed issue Responding to Mass Shootings in America

Biography:

Noriko Nakada writes, blogs, tweets, parents, and teaches middle school in Los Angeles. She is committed to writing thought-provoking creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry.