My school held a student walkout on March 14 to protest the lack of gun control and honor the many lives lost at Parkland.
During the walkout, there were a few student speakers giving speeches, and one of the speakers read a poem that I wrote called for parkland.
Below is the poem. It is important that the voices of my generation are acknowledged and heard, and I hope that my poem captures our fight and communicates it to those who will listen.
for parkland
people may tell you
or try to tell you
that love is foolish
and peace is too romantic
and kindness is a fraud
that your life is worth less than
a gun
or a law
and never worth a change
or a compromise
but when the mouths that feed you such lies
are poisoned by the toxins of hate,
corrupted by the line that falsely blends history with truth and justice,
sealed by the greed that society convinces us we must have
we must cup our breath in the palms of our hands
blistered fingers now a fortress
for not even air deserves to hear such hopelessness
and we must carry this with us always
for it can change the world
jamie and alyssa’s eyes of glistening joy
shared in remnants and fragments of their memory
seem so familiar to us now
suddenly we remember taking mr. beigel’s class just last year
we see martin and nicholas walking down our halls
and coach feis and mr. hixon at all our championship games
luke and cara and gina
joaquin and alaina and meadow
helena alex carmen peter
these names slice through each of us now
open wounds all over our bodies
we bear the weight of them on our shoulders
and we carry them with us wherever we go
we grieve for these victims like classmates, teachers, and friends
because they might as well have been
next month’s CNN report it could be my name read off
or yours
it is not time for reform
but peace
it is not time for better
but right
we are generation columbine
never knowing a time
when the word shooting did not constantly follow school
only knowing a time
when a bullet can hit us faster than we can learn
we are generation columbine
and we are done with being told “it’s all going to be okay”
so call us idealistic
or crazy
or radical
but peace is possible
and peace is the answer
I can put a price on your guns
but don’t you dare put a price on my life
we will march until the soles of our feet bleed the love that you refuse to see
and not a damn thing you can say
will make us change our minds
— Sara Gronich
Gronich is a senior at High School South.
