Use Your Words

“It is an unimaginable tragedy,”

says the woman fluent
in politics, but not
in the tongue
of our nation because
surely every parent
imagines it.
Every teacher,
every child
imagines it
expects it
prepares for it.

“This district has been very good
in training…on active shooters.”

in classrooms and hallways
every day all over
the country where
unimaginable is our way
of life and death.
Not unimaginable, but inevitable,
nothing we can do because

“It’s too early to talk about policies
that might need to change as a result of this.”

If that seems
untrue, ask yourself
which

“…uniquely American problem”

I’m writing about here.

Deborah Z Adams (she/her) is an award-winning author of novels, short fiction, CNF, and poetry. You're invited to visit her website at www.Deborah-Adams.com Read other articles by Deborah Z.