Best Poems Written by Liz Tingley

Our Code Red

Title: Our Code Red

As I laid in my bed
Not ready to face the day
I get up to start new
To start fresh
But
Little did I know
That today I would go
And not come back

Woah.

Who would have predicted
That we would be restricted
This was a code red. 
There was the silence.
And we were unaware
That we were in disrepair.
And we were told to keep quiet.

Shots fired.
And he was higher.
This body count amount
Would not stop climbing
And our timing?
Was worse than anything
And we could not bring
Ourselves to swing anything
To protect ourselves from his attack
We could’ve used our backpacks
To shield ourselves from the bullets flying
But our school wasn’t complying
With our need of feeling safe.
And this is what killed us.

We were all stifled
As he was holding the rifle
But we were so unskilled
To handle this situation
What was his temptation?
To ruin the lives of others?
What about our sisters and our brothers?
Would we ever be able to go back to how things were?
How was any of this fair!?

Seventeen dead.
How many more?
How many will be ignored
Turned away
To face another day
To be in,
Our Code Red.

Copyright © Liz Tingley | Year Posted 2018